or  mows  STORIES 

AND 

IffECIOlES 

09 

\        YE  OLDEN 


*' 


GRANDMA'S   STORIES    AND 
ANECDOTES. 


THE   OLD  WELSH   OR  JENKINS 
COAT   OF  ARMS. 


GRANDMA'S 

Stories  and  Anecdotes 


"YE  OLDEN  TIMES." 
Incidents  of  the  War  of  Independence,  Etc. 

BY 

S.    M.    X. 

Of  the  Visitation  Academy,  Baltimore,  Md. 


BOSTON : 

ANGEL  GUARDIAN  PRESS, 
1899. 


COPYRIGHT,  1899, 

BY  THE 

ANGEL  GUARDIAN  PRESS. 
BOSTON,  MASS. 


INTRODUCTION. 


THERE  is  a  charm  in  a  well-told  story  that 
few  other  things  in  life  seem  to  possess  ;  for 
children  especially,  it  is  the  most  engaging 
pastime.  They  will  readily  leave  an  inter- 
esting game  and  listen  for  hours  to  tales  of 
adventure,  historical  anecdotes,  or  incidents 
of  real  life.  Unfortunately,  all  well-told 
stories  are  not  equally  productive  of  benefit. 
Some,  while  they  recreate  and  interest  the 
child,  convey  to  the  mind  nothing  to  improve 
it,  or  that  cultivates  the  intellect. 

Children's  minds  are  as  impressible  as  wax, 
with  this  difference  ;  the  image  may  be  effaced 
from  the  wax ,  but  from  the  memory,  seldom 
or  never ;  careful,  then,  should  we  be  in  our 
selection  of  stories  for  the  little  ones,  re- 
membering the  adage  of  old :  "Early  impres- 
sions are  lasting." 


As  the  tree  is  easily  bent  when  a  sapling, 
so  can  the  tender  minds  of  children  be 
inclined  to  good  or  evil  by  the  nursery 
teachings.  Too  much  care  cannot  be 
taken  to  impress  them  with  a  love  of  what 
will  render  them  virtuous  and  happy  in 
after  life.  Stories  that  convey  the  moral  of 
truthfulness,  uprightness  and  strict  adherence 
to  duty,  can  never  fail  to  produce  a  lasting 
effect.  Fiction  is  good  but  truth  is  more 
desirable.  The  contents  of  this  little  volume 
are  founded  on  fact,  and  given  in  the  simple 
language  we  caught  up  from  the  venerated 
grandma  of  years  long  since  gone  by  ;  we 
fondly  trust  they  may  prove  useful  and 
recreative  to  the  little  lovers  of  tales  and 
stories. 

Baltimore,  1899 


CONTENTS. 


PA'.E 

THE  STAMP  ACT  AND  TAXATION  OF  THE 

COLONIES  -  13 

THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE  AND 

ITS  CELEBRATION  33 

GENERAL  LAFAYETTE  AND  HIS  BALL  IN 

BLADENSBURG  -  49 

MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  COLONIAL 

DAYS  til 

REMINISCENCES  OF  ouiiWAR  WITH  ENGLAND, 

1812—1814  84 

BUSHWOOD,  THE  HOME  OF  THE  ANGLO- 
AMERICAN  PLOWDENS  -  105 

BLENHEIM  OF  COLONIAL  DAYS    -  -         125 


Grandma's  Stories  and  Anecdotes 

OF 

"YE   OLDEN    TIMES." 
PART  I. 

THE  STAMP  ACT  AND  TAXATION  OF 
THE  COLONIES. 

THERE  was  nogreater'pleasure  or  treat 
for  us  than  to  gather  around  our  dear 
old  grandma  in  the  long  winter-evenings 
and  listen  to  the  stories  of  what  she  called 
"Ye  Good  Olden  Times."  She  had  many 
of  the  quaint  sayings  of  old  England  that 
rendered  her  anecdotes  and  histories  the 
more  interesting. 

Grandma  was  a  remarkable  personage; 
at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty  and  more, 
her  faculties  were  unimpaired  and  it  was 


14  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

only  thejbent  form  that  indicated  decline 
of  years  and  made  us  realize  that  the 
shades  of  night  were  fast  gathering  around 
the  life  that  had  been  but  sunshine  and 
happiness  to  others  for  nearly  a  century. 
Her  memory,  to  the  last,  was  a  store  of 
useful  knowledge  and  general  information; 
often  have  we  wished  for  it  in  latter  years 
and  days  of  study.  She  was  well  versed 
in  the  history  of  nations,  and  had  learned 
from  tradition  every  important  incident 
connected  with  our  own  loved  country, 
from  the  commencement  of  Maryland's 
great  part  in  the  historical  drama,  or  from 
its  settlement  by  the  Cal verts  in  1634. 
Her  experience  and  personal  acquaintance 
with  the  leading  characters  of  Virginia, 
Maryland,  etc.,  would  have  sufficed  for 
volumes :  unfortunately,  we  knew  not  the 
treasure  we  possessed  until  it  was  hope- 
lessly lost. 

Grandma  had  long  been  promising  us  a 


GRANDMA'S  STOKIES.  15 

series  of  historical  facts  and  anecdotes  of 
the  old  Colonial  period.  She  one  day  re- 
marked that  as  Yule-tide  was  approaching 
she  would  make  those  stories  one  of  her 
Christmas-gifts  to  us;  it  is  needless  to  say 
we  counted  the  days  and  hours  and  could 
hardly  wait  with  patience  the  coming  of 
those  joyous  evenings  when  all  could  be 
together,  free  from  books  and  essays. 

On  the  second  evening  of  the  glorious 
festival,  we  were  summoned  to  the  dear 
old  lady's  sitting  room  where  we  found 
her  prepared  to  give  us  a  charming  wel- 
come. A  neat  little  table  in  front  of  her 
large  arm-chair,  was  laden  with  knicknacks 
of  all  kinds,  each  bearing  the  name  of  the 
one  for  whom  it  was  intended.  It  was  a 
jolly  moment,  one  never  to  be  forgotten. 

Well,  after  the  presentation  ceremony 
was  over,  and  many  loving  words  to  our 
grandma,  Charlie,  the  oldest  amongst  us, 
became  spokesman  for  the  evening  and 


16  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

ventured  to  remind  our  hostess  of  the 
promised  stories.  He  began  with:  "Now, 
grandma,  let  us  have  a  toast  to  the  good 
olden  times  of  yore,  and  to  your  youthful 


She  laughed  in  replying:  "Yes,  Charlie, 
those  were  good  old  times;  there  are  none 
like  them  now  and  never  will  be." 

"Grandma,"  said  Charlie,  "don't  you 
think  every  generation  says  the  same  ? 
I  bet  when  we  are  old  we  shall  tell  the 
youngsters  about  our  grand  old  times, 
won't  we,  grandma  ?"  I  can  just  hear  my- 
self now  telling  the  little  boys  and  girls 
about  to-night  and  all  the  other  pleasant 
evenings  you  have  given  us." 

"Well,  yes,"  replied  grandma,  "that  is 
true,  but  our  times  were  different  from  any 
that  will  ever  occur  in  the  future  of  this 
country.  We  were  in  the  midst  of  war,  and 
the  rumors  of  war,  and  had  a  great  deal  to 
contend  with,  anxieties  of  eveiy  kind. 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  17 

"All,  rich  and  poor,  had  the  same  trials 
and  difficulties,  and  all  were  united, 
having  one  heart  and  one  soul,  determined 
on  resisting  the  oppression  of  our  mother 
country,  England.  We  had  to  work  and 
turn  our  hands  to  everything  and  any- 
thing ;  still,  we  were  happy,  except  when 
thinking  of  the  dear  ones  that  had  fallen  on 
the  field  of  battle,  and  of  those  who  might, 
share  the  same  sad  fate." 

Grandma  lost  two  brothers,  both  under 
Washington,  and  she  never  spoke  of  them 
without  a  sigh  or  a  tear,  and  no  doubt  she- 
often  wept  bitterly  in  her  silent  hours 
and  moments.  She  told  us  of  many  that 
were  never  heard  of  after  they  enlisted. 

She  was  born  in  1755,  consequently,  was 
ten  years  old  when  the  famous  Stamp  Act 
was  passed  by  the  British  Parliament  in 
1765,  and  could  relate  many  incidents 
and  interesting  anecdotes  of  that  perilous, 
age.  She  told  us  the  Act  created  great 


18  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

consternation  throughout  the  entire  coun- 
try, and  especially  among  the  business 
portion  of  the  population,  as  all  the  legal  or 
business  paper  was  stamped  and  could  not 
be  used  without  it.  In  those  days  a  great 
many  grants,  deeds,  transfers,  etc.,  had  to 
be  signed  by  the  Lord  Proprietary  or 
Lieutenant  Governor,  and  the  cost 
amounted  to  quite  a  sum,  which  few  could 
afford.  But  the  young  people  did  not 
bother  about  the  Stamp  Act,  "for,  as 
you  may  imagine,"  said  grandma,  laughing, 
"our  love-letters  were  not  written  on  the 
stamped  paper.  But  when,  in  the  following 
year  the  Act  was  repealed  and  the 
<luty  put  upon  tea,  glass,  etc.,  then  you 
ought  to  have  heard  the  ladies  talk ;  old  arid 
young  were  roused  to  the  highest  talking 
pitch.  They  held  meetings  of  indignation 
and  drew  up  resolutions  of  protest,  etc., 
which,  however  were  never  sent  to  King 
George  or  any  of  his  representatives. 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  19 

"One  elderly  lady  declared  she  would 
die  without  her  tea,  and  that  if  it  was 
beyond  her  ability  to  get  it,  she  would 
give  up  the  ghost;  that  tea  was  her  only 
beverage,  and  she  would  become  as  dry  as 
a  haystack  if  deprived  of  her  little  tea-pot. 
To  her  dining-room  maid  she  said:  'Minty 
chile,  take  good  care  of  the  tea;  it's  going 
to  be  taxed,  and  I  do  not  know  if  we  will 
ever  see  any  more  after  the  present  supply 
is  gone.  Dear,  dear,  what  will  I  do?' 

"  'What,'  said  the  darkey,  ktacks  on  tea! 
Why  don't  dey  say  nails  at  once,  and  be 
done  with  it?  Tacks  on  de  tea!  who  eber 
heard  of  it.  Laws,  missus!  is  de  Britishers 
gwiue  to  be  as  mean  as  dat,  make  us  drink 
tacks  tea  ?  We  is  cum  to  a  fine  pass,  in- 
deed we  is,  to  be  drinking  dat  stuff.  Surely 
Massa  George  Washingtun  ain't  gwine  to 
stan'  dat  !' 

"The  mistress  attempted  explanation  of 
the  tax,  but  the  darkey  knew  almost  as 


20  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

much  as  the  mistress,"  said  grandma,  and 
she  laughed  heartily. 

uln  those  days,  tea  seemed  to  be  the 
general  remedy  for  all  pains  and  aches;  if 
one  had  a  cold,  it  was,  'take  a  cup  of  hot 
tea,  chile,  that  will  cure  you.' 

"Yes,  tea  was  considered  the  staple  of 
life  and  many  were  the  groans  and  laments 
at  the  prospect  of  its  becoming  too  expen- 
sive for  use." 

Grandma  was  full  of  humorous  wit  and 
delighted  in  the  telling  amusing  anecdotes. 

"One  day,"  said  she,  "old  Mrs.  Wrigger, 
who  sometimes  spun  for  us,  came  to  see 
about  her  work,  and  as  soon  as  she  got  in 
she  began  her  tale  of  woe. 

"'Laws  sake!' she  said  to  my  mother, 
'isn't  it  awful  times,  Mrs.  N — ?  I  hear 
Parliament  has  taken  all  the  stamps  off  the 
paper  and  put  them  on  the  tea  and  glass; 
dear  me!  what  will  we  come  to  next?  I 
believe  it  will  be  the  death  of  poor  mother; 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  21 

she  just  lives  on  tea.  She  and  me  sets  by 
the  tea-pot  at  breakfast,  dinner  and  supper, 
and  what  she  don't  take  I  do,  so  there's 
not  a  drop  left  betwixt  us.  I  used  to  be 
inclined  to  like  the  Britishers,but  can't  bide 
them  now;  when  people  touches  tea,  they 
touches  me,  and  I'm  done  with  'em  forever 
and  aye.  Poor  mother  sets  shaking  her 
foot ;  she  looks  at  the  pot  and  then  at  me; 
but  she  don't  say  anything,  only  says  she 
to  me  the  other  day,  says  she,  "Caddy, 
won't  we  miss  the  old  tea-pot !"  Says  I  to 
her,  "Oh,  mother  don't  be  worrying  about 
the  tea;  I'll  manage  to  keep  the  pot 
agoing." ' 

"My  mother  kindly  told  Mrs.  Wrigger 
to  tell  her  mother  she  would  see  to  her  tea- 
pot when  the  worse  would  come  to  the 
worse. 

"  'There,  now,'  responded  Mrs.  Wrigger, 
•'I  knowed  you  would,  and  told  mother  so. 
Well,  I'm  going  home  much  more  light- 


22  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

hearted  than  when    I   cum  in,  good-bye/ 
and  off  she  went. 

"Old  Mrs.  Dempsey  made  a  great  to-do 
about  glass  ;  she  was  not  so  fond  of  tea. 
Her  husband  coming  in  one  afternoon,  she 
accosted  him  with:  'John  Dempsey,  is  it 
true  we  are  to  have  a  heavy  duty  on  glass?' 

"  '  It  seems  so,'  replied  the  old  man. 

"  '  Then,'  said  she,  'I'll  give  up,  for  when 
a  pane  breaks,  where  will  we  get  another? ' 

"  'Cover  it  up  with  sheepskin,  Sallie, 
that's  plenty  good  enough  these  times.' 

•'  'Cover  the  window  with  sheepskin, 
John  Dempsey  ?  Why,  surely,  man,  you 
are  dreaming.  Whoever  heard  of  sheep- 
skin windows?  I  tell  you,  sir,  they'll 
never  come  into  my  house.  Sheepskin 
windows  I  Great  heavens!  I'd  sooner  have 
no  windows  at  all. 

"  'You  forget,  John  Dempsey,  that  our  Sal 
and  Betsy  are  both  going  to  turn  out  in 
company  next  winter,  and  how  will  it  look 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

for  people  to  be  riding  up  the  lane  and 
seeing  our  sheepskin  windows  ?  You  may 
laugh  as  much  as  you  please,  man,  but  I'll 
never  let  sheepskin  windows  in  my  house. 
I'd  sooner  daub  up  the  walls  entirely  and 
have  tallow  candles  in  day  time.  I 
know  what  I  would  like  to  do  ;  I  would 
take  every  pane  of  glass  in  this  house,  go 
over  to  England  and  pitch  the  whole  kit 
and  bile  in  old  George's  face ;  and  as  to 
the  tea,  I'd  make  it  boiling  hot  by  the 
gallon  and  pour  it  clown  his  throat  until  I'd 
see  him  burst  every  inch  of  him  ;  then  he'd 
know  what  it  is  to  be  putting  his  old 
fingers  in  our  pie,  as  the  saying  goes.' 

"  'Well,  well,'  said  old  Dempsey,  'I  never 
heard  a  woman  talk  and  go  on  like  you, 
Sal ;  s'pose  you  hold  on  till  you  feel  the 
weight  of  the  taxes.' 

"  'Hold  on,  and  for  what?  Just  to  see 
the  Redcoat  walk  in  and  carry  off  all  we 
possess,  just  because  we  own  a  little  tea 


24  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

and  some  glass  ?  When  they  sez  glass  they 
mean  everything  that  looks  like  glass,  and 
nary  a  tumbler  will  be  left  to  drink  out 
of  when  company  comes.  I  know  them 
fellers  by  heart,  John  Dempsey,  and  you 
don't.' " 

Grandma  stopped  to  take  a  pinch  of 
snuff  and  a  sip  of  water,  then  related 
another  anecdote. 

"Well,  old  Mrs.  Lyons,  the  weaveress, 
entered  one  afternoon,  and  she  began  with  : 
*Mrs.  N — ,'  said  she  to  mother,  'don't  you 
think  it  a  mean  thing  in  the  Parliament  to 
be  putting  the  big  stamp  from  the  papers, 
to  the  tea  and  glass  ?  They  might  as  well 
have  left  it  on  the  papers,  don't  you  think 
.so  ?  I  know  it  puts  me  in  a  fix,  for  just 
one  month  ago  I  went  and  bought  six  glass 
tumblers,  the  first  we  ever  had;  we  always 
drank  out  of  tin  cups  and  gourds,  and  I 
tell  you,  Mrs.  N — ,  our  gourds  are  nice 
enough  to  give  the  king  himself,  but  our 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  25 

Jane  gets  airs  sometimes  and  she  allowed 
we  ought  to  have  a  few  tumblers  for  com- 
pany, and  I  gratified  her,  but  I  am  deter- 
mined to  sell  three  of  them.  I'm  sure 
three  is  a  plenty  for  any  family  like  ours, 
and  since  Jim  Jinks  went  to  war  she  never 
has  more  than  one  youngster  to  come  at  a 
time.  I  s'pose  you  don't  want  to  buy  any 
more  tumblers,  do  you,  Mrs.  N —  ?'  Mother 
answered  her  kindly  but  negatively,  adding: 
'Haven't  you  paid  for  them,  Mrs.  Lyons?' 
'Laws  yes  I  took  over  to  the  store  three 
dozens  of  chickens,  a  dozen  ducks  and  two 
pecks  of  dried  apples,  and  exchanged  them 
for  the  tumblers;  it's  true,  they  throwed  in 
a  wee  bit  of  sugar  and  a  pint  of  molasses 
in  the  bargin  !'  " 

"You  had  many  a  laugh  in  those  days, 
grandma,"  said  my  brother  Edward,  "and 
I  think  the  women  had  a  great  deal  of 
spunk,  hadn't  they?" 

"Yes,  indeed,  child,  they  had  spunk  and 


26  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

pluck  to  the  backbone,  and  I  believe  if  the 
women  had  been  called  to  the  field  of 
battle,  they  would  have  conquered  the 
enemy  sooner  than  the  men.  But  they 
were  generous;  mothers  sent  off  their  sons, 
and  sisters  urged  their  brothers  to  be 
valiant  and  courageous,  and  I  tell  you. 
children,  we  had  anxious  days  though 
many  a  little  sparkling  of  fun.  Every  now 
and  then  sad  news  would  reach  us  and  our 
spirits  flagged  for  a  while;  then  again  we'd 
hear  of  some  great  victory  on  our  side,  and 
there  would  be  fine  cheering ;  that's  the 
way  in  war.  you  know. 

"Once  a  poor  man  wretchedly  clad, 
came  to  our  house  and  said  he  was 
from  Washington's  Army  in  New  York; 
that  he  had  been  sent  out  on  the  scout, 
taken  captive  by  the  Indians  and  kept  for 
several  weeks,  almost  starving ;  he  made 
his  escape  one  dark  night  and  pushed 
southward.  He  gave  good  tidings  of  our 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  27 

northern  array,  but  we  did  not  trust  him 
much,  fearing  he  was  a  spy.  Father  and 
mother  gave  him  a  night's  lodging  and 
meals.  Next  morning  he  was  ill  with  what 
he  called  'Camp  Fever,'  and  he  died  in 
a  few  hours.  We  kept  his  coming  and 
death  profoundly  secret  ;  none  of  the 
neighbors  knew  anything  about  it  for 
nearly  a  year. 

"In  those  days,  when  we  were  told  not 
to  tell  a  thing  we  dared  not  speak  of  it." 

"I  bet,"  said  Harry,  "it  would  have  been 
told  these  times  as  there  are  so  many  girls, 
about." 

"Thank  you,  master  Harry,"  said  I,  "foi 
your  compliment." 

"When  was  the  first  battle  fought, 
grandma  ?"  queried  Harry. 

"Well,  you  know,  child,  the  Redcoats 
entered  Boston,  September  27,  1768.  Gen- 
eral Gage  was  sent  over  with  two  regiments 
to  make  us  submit  to  the  English  taxation, 


28  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

and  he  carried  a  high  head  from  all  ac- 
counts." 

"He  ought  to  have  had  some  of  the 
plucky  ladies  to  deal  with,  Mrs.  Dempsey 
for  instance,"  said  our  Charlie. 

"And,"  continued  grandma,  "you  know 
all  the  duties  except  those  on  tea,  glass, 
etc.,  were  removed  in  1767.  In  1770, 
only  the  tax  on  tea  remained  and  the 
British  were  determined  to  get  that  out 
of  the  Americans,  and  the  Americans  just 
as  determined  not  to  pay  a  cent  of  it. 

"Our  men  disguised  themselves  as  Indians 
and  in  the  very  face  of  the  British,  emptied 
a  whole  cargo  of  tea  in  Boston  Harbor. 
Wasn't  it  plucky  in  them  ?  And  in  An- 
napolis they  burnt  the  Peggy  Stewart  and 
all  the  tea  on  board  of  her,  but  spared  the 
crew  and  let  them  get  home  the  best  they 
could. 

"In  and  about  Boston  annoying  little 
skirmishes  frequently  occurred,  in  most  of 


GRANDMA'S  STOEIES.  29 

which  our  men  were  whipped ;  that,  how- 
ever, did  not  discourage  them;  on  the  con- 
trary they  rallied  with  more  energy  and 
every  man  and  boy  that  could  muster  a 
gun  of  any  kind,  hurried  northward. 

"The  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  was  fought 
June  17,  1775,  and  though  we  lost, 
Gen.  Howe,  then  in  command  of  the 
British,  was  glad  to  run  into  Boston  and 
hide  his  army.  After  that  battle,  Gen. 
Washington  was  appointed  Commander- 
in-chief  and  we  all  said:  'Now  we'll  whip 
the  Redcoats,'  and  sure  enough  we  did. 

"Prescott  headed  our  troops  at  Bunker 
Hill;  he  was  a  good  general  but  not  like 
Washington." 

"How  did  you  all  get  the  news  so  quickly, 
grandma  ?"  asked  Edward. 

"Why,  child,  we  had  smart  messenger- 
boys  and  men  who  rode  from  town  to 
town  conveying  the  result  of  each  battle 
or  fight.  As  they  passed  through  the 


30  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

villages,  even  at  night,  they  shouted  out 
whatever  it  was  they  had  to  report ;  if  favo- 
rable, there  was  great  rejoicing,  but  if 
disastrous,  our  faces  were  long  enough  for 
days  or  until  we  heard  something  to  cheer 
us.  Little  boys  were  paid  for  carrying  the 
news  to  private  houses,  and  if  you 
had  been  there,  Charlie,  you  would  have 
made  a  few  pennies.  Every  one  was  eager 
to  hear  and  know  everything  concerning 
the  army. 

"I  knew  one  poor  little  drummer-boy 
who  was  shot  in  two  by  a  cannon-ball  at 
Bunker  Hill.  He  went  from  our  neigh- 
borhood; his  poor  mother  never  got  over 
his  sad  death,  but  was  resigned  to  God's 
holy  will,  knowing  he  died  in  a  glorious 
cause.  She  knew  he  would  have  fared 
badly  if  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  the 
English.  Oh,  indeed,  my  dear  children, 
we  had  a  mortal  horror  of  the  English 
soldiers,  they  were  so  cruel  and  so  deter- 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  31 

mined  on  our  submitting  to  their  tyrann- 
ical yoke. 

"Sometimes  in  the  winter  our  men  would 
be  allowed  a  furlough  or  leave  of  absence 
for  a  definite  time,  and  we  would  hear  an- 
ecdotes and  stories  worth  listening  to,  some 
sad,  others  joyful,  most  of  them  amusing. 
Of  the  last  you  must  hear  one  that  will  in- 
terest you.  During  the  battle  of  German- 
town,  October  4,  1777,  when  the  fight  was 
hottest,  Major  Burnet,  one  of  the  officers 
of  Gen.  Greene,  was  shorn  of  his  handsome 
cue,  by  a  musketball.  Gen.  Greene  per- 
ceiving it,  said:  'Don't  be  in  a  hurry,  get 
down  and  save  your  cue.'  The  major 
followed  the  advice  and  regained  his  hair. 
A  few  minutes  after,  a  shot  came  whizzing 
by  and  carried  off  one  of  the  powdered 
curls  of  the  general.  Burnet  could  not 
resist  the  temptation  to  retort  on  his  su- 
perior officer  and  said:  'Don't  be  in  a  hurry, 
dismount  and  save  your  curl.'  As  the 


32  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

enemy  were  in  close  pursuit,  the  general 
preferred  to  lose  his  curl  rather  than  him- 
self and  fine  horse. 

"O,  my  dear  children,"  continued  grand- 
ma, "our  struggle  for  liberty  was  a  hard 
one,  but,  thanks  to  Almighty  God,  we  have 
been  repaid  for  our  sacrifices.  You,  my 
dear  ones,  can  never  know  how  much  you 
are  indebted  to  your  ancestors  for  what 
you  now  enjoy,  and  I  trust  you  may  be 
able  to  say  to  future  generations,  what  I 
have  so  often  said  to  you:  'There  are  no 
times  like  our  good  old  times.'  I  think 
it  is  time  now  for  our  night  prayers,  so  a, 
happy  good  night  with  pleasant  dreams. 

"Tomorrow  evening  I  will  tell  you 
something  of  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence, and  the  joy  it  brought  to  all  hearts." 


PART  II. 


DECLARATION     OF       INDEPENDENCE     AND 
ITS  CELEBRATION. 

4  '  T\/T  °THER'  '     Said   my    brother     Ed~ 

IVJ.  ward,  at  the  dinner  table,  "can't 
you  let  us  have  supper  a  little  earlier  this 
evening?  Grandma  has  promised  to  tell  us 
about  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
and  I  know  it  is  going  to  be  jolly." 

"Advance  supper!"  replied  mother.  '"I 
fear  you  children  are  worrying  your 
grandma ;  you  must  not  forget  she  is  old, 
and  should  not  be  fatigued  unnecessarily." 

Turning  to  the  waiter,  she  said:  "Ad- 
vance ten  minutes,  John.  I  guess  that 
will  give  time  enough,  won't  it,  children?" 

"Yes,  and  thank  you,  mother,"  replk-d 
one  and  all. 


34  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

Brother    Charlie    said  in  his  dry    way: 

"I  reckon  if  you  had  seen  grandma  last 
night,  mother,  you  would  not  call  her  old; 
it  did  my  heart  good  to  see  her  so  young. 
I  believe  she  could  have  danced  the  horn- 
pipe." 

Papa  joined  in  saying,  "Yes,  and  she  is 
yet  worth  ten  young  ones." 

Nettie,  our  little  sister,  went  to  pay 
grandma  an  afternoon  visit  and  told  her 
we  were  going  to  have  early  supper. 

"Early  supper,"  said  the  old  lady, 
"what's  that  for  ?  Is  anything  expected?" 

"Why,  grandma,"  said  the  prattler,  "the 
boys  told  mother  you  were  going  to 
tell  us  a  jolly  story  about  the  'Declamation 
of  Innopenance,'  and  they  wanted  more 
time." 

"Good  gracious,"  replied  grandma,  "do 
they  expect  me  to  talk  all  night,  the  little 
scamps  ?" 

"And,"  continued  Nettie,  "mamma  said 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  35 

we  must  not  worry  you,  grandma,  because 
you  are  so  old,  and  Charlie  told  her  you 
were  young  enough  last  night  to  dance  the 
hornpipe.  What's  that,  grandma?" 

"The  good-for-nothing  fellow,"  replied 
grandma.  "Tell  him,  Nett,  I  will  crack  his 
head  for  him.  I,  young  enough  to  dance 
the  hornpipe!"  and  the  old  lady's  laugh 
might  have  been  heard  outside  her  room. 

The  hours  sped  on  and  soon  brought 
supper;  when  all  were  fairly  in,  Nettie  ac- 
costed Charlie  with: 

"Ah,  master  Charlie,  you  are  going  to 
catch  it;  grandma  says  she  will  quack  your 
head  for  saying  she  was  young  enough  to 
dance  the  hornpipe." 

"Did  you  tell  grandma  that,  you  little 
vixen?"  said  Charlie.  "I  declare,  mother, 
Nettie  is  getting  to  be  a  real  tattler  and  she 
ought  to  be  hauled  over;  she  told  grand- 
ma the  other,  day  that  I  said  her  nose  and 
chin  would  soon  meet." 


36  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

"Nettie,"  said  her  mother,  "you  really 
must  not  repeat  to  grandma  or  any  on  & 
else,  the  little  things  you  hear;  after  a 
while  everyone  will  be  afraid  of  you. 
Now,  you  needn't  go  to  grandma  and  say 
I  said  this,  do  you  understand?" 

Nettie  was  as  pleasant  as  though  she 
had  received  no  rebuke  or  chiding,  and 
that  is  the  way  all  little  girls  should  be 
when  corrected,  and  never  look  angry  or 
pout  when  found  fault  with. 

Well,  supper  was  over  and  we  sat  wait- 
ing for  a  summons  from  grandma;  after  a 
while  down  came  her  maid  to  say:  "Ole 
missus  is  read}-  for  the  chillun." 

How  we  scampered  up  the  stairs  I 
There  was  dear  grandma,  seated  in  her 
large  arm-chair,  closely  wrapped  in  her 
little  shawl.  She  kissed  us  all  and  after 
taking  a  good  pinch  of  snuff  said:  "What 
did  I  promise  to  tell  you  to-night?  " 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  37 

"The  Declaration  of  Independence,"  we 
•all  shouted. 

'•Tell  me  first,"  said  grandma,  "when 
was  Independence  declared?" 

"The  fourth  of  July,  seventeen  hun- 
dred and  seventy-six,"  answered  Charlie. 

"Yes,"  said  the  old  lady,  "that  was  the 
happiest  day  America  ever  saw,  decidedly 
the  happiest,  and  there  were  great  rejoic- 
ings, I  assure  you,  children. 

"We  knew  our  statesmen  were  in  ses- 
sion, debating  the  point  of  freedom,  etc. 
Congress  was  held  in  the  State  House  at 
Philadelphia,  for  you  know  we  had  no 
fixed  capital  at  that  time  and  it  was  only 
in  1800,  that  the  city  of  Washington  be- 
came the  seat  of  Government.  General 
Washington  laid  off  and  planned  the 
city  in  1790,  and  it  was  then  decided 
to  begin  the  building  of  the  Capitol. 
Washington  took  his  ideas  from  a  wheel. 
He  intended  the  Capitol  to  represent  the 


GRANDMA  S    STORIES. 

hub,  and  the  radiating  avenues  the  spokes 
of  the  wheel.  And  here  I  must  tell  you 
an  anecdote  lest  I  forget  it.  When  it 
was  decided  to  remove  the  Capital,  a 
countryman  met  another  and  hailed  him 
with:  'Arrah,  and  did  you  hear  the  news?* 

"  'No/  replied  his  friend,  *and  what's  up,, 
tell  me,  Jim.' 

"  'Well,"  said  the  other,  'they  are  going- 
to  fetch  the  Capitol  from  Philadelphy 
clean  down  to  Washington,  and  I  tell  you, 
man,  there's  going  to  be  game  in  it.' 

"Pshaw,  Jim,'  shouted  Jerry,  'you  don't 
tell  me  that;  how  will  they  ever  do  such  a. 
tiling.  Why,  man,  it  will  take  years  for 
such  a  job  as  that,  and  there'll  be  no  team 
left  at  all,  at  all,  after  such  a  pull  and 
haul.  'Twill  kill  every  horse  and  mule  in 
the  country  to  drag  such  a  big  house  so 
fur.' 

"  'Ha,  ha,  ha,'  shouted  Jim,  'they  ain't 
going  to  fetch  the  house,  but  only  the 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  394 

goods  and  chattels  ;  they  can't  move  the 
State  House.' 

"  kBut,  }TOU  know,  Jim,  'capitol'  means 
house,  and  'capital'  city,  so  a  fellow  told 
me  the  other  day,  and  you  say  they  are  go,, 
ing  to  fetch  the  Capitol,  and  sure  that 
means  the  house.' 

"  "I  believe  you  are  about  right,  Jerry,' 
said  Jim,  'and  I  lay  bet  on  seeing  that  big- 
house  hauled  down  by  horse  power. 
George  Washington  was  a  great  man.' 

"At  that  time,  children,  Washington 
was  but  a  small,  insignificant  village,  with 
only  a  few  houses  and  shanties.  George- 
town was  a  much  handsomer  place,  and 
Bladensburg  a  very  pretty  little  town;  at 
one  time  they  thought  of  making  it  the 
Capital  city.  But  excuse  my  digression,, 
and  now  to  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence again. 

"For  days  we  were  in  the  greatest 
anxiety,  fearing  some  of  our  men  would 


40  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

favor  subjection  to  the  English  yoke  a  little 
while  longer.  Every  Colony  had  what 
we  now  call  reporters,  standing  around 
the  old  State  House  in  Philadelphia,  to 
give  notice  of  the  decision.  Besides,  all 
through  the  country,  there  were  telegraph 
stations,  not  wires  as  we  have  at  present, 
but  very  high  poles,  and  it  was  agreed  that 
if  the  decision  was  in  favor,  a  red  flag 
would  be  hoisted;  if  not,  a  black  one. 

"There  was  very  little  work  done  those 
days;  every  one  seemed  apprehensive  of  a 
great  calamity,  and  we  prayed  as  hard  as 
we  could,  for  it  would  have  been  worse 
than  death  to  hear  we  were  still  to  be 
under  British  rule.  Well,  on  the  morning 
of  the  fifth  of  July  we  heard  the  firing  of 
guns  in  every  direction,  and  we  hoped  all 
was  right,  still  no  news  had  come  to  us. 
The  excitement  all  through  the  country 
was  simply  terrible.  At  last  we  saw 
father  coming  home,  as  fast  as  his  horse 


( GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  41 

could  carry  him.  We  all  ran  out  and 
surrounded  him;  he  was  so  overcome  that 
he  could  only  say,  'Free,  free!'  We  cried 
with  joy  and  could  do  nothing  but  go 
from  one  to  the  other  saying,  'Glory  be  to 
our  men;  glory  be  to  Congress,'  though  our 
first  act  was  to  kneel  down  and  give 
thanks  to  Almighty  God  for  so  watching 
over  his  poor  American  children." 

Grandma  was  quite  overcome  and  we 
sat  in  silence  till  Nett  broke  the  spell  by 
saying :  "Grandma,  did  you  fire  any 
guns  ?"  We  were  relieved  by  the  laugh 
she  gave  us. 

"Wiry,  yes,  child,  we  all  had  learned 
how  to  shoot,  and  I  fired  many  a  gun. 

"But,"  continued  grandma,  "there  were 
some  few  that  did  not  unite  in  the  rejoic- 
ings. I  mean  the  Tories,  they  looked 
black  enough,  I  can  tell  you." 

"Who  were  the  Tories,  grandma?"  en- 
quired Edward. 


42  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

"The  Tories,  my  dear,"  she  replied,  "were 
those  who  desired  to  remain  under  the 
English  Government,  and  those  who  were 
for  free  America  were  Whigs.  There  was 
an  old  Squire  Lee,  not  far  from  us,  who  was 
a  noted  Tory;  he  was  a  sort  of  cousin  to 
the  famous  Light  Horse  Harry  Lee,  but 
unlike  him  in  loving  America.  He  was 
very  wealthy,  having  brought  all  his  for- 
tune from  England  and  would  have  gone 
back  if  he  had  lived,  so  it  was  said.  Well, 
he  had  an  only  daughter,  Eliza  Lee,  who 
despised  American  ways.  She  died  of 
pleurisy  some  years  after  the  close  of  the 
war.  When  she  was  taken  ill  her  physician 
assured  her  she  could  be  relieved  and  saved 
only  by  bleeding.  She  said,  'No,  indeed, 
I  will  never  allow  one  drop  of  my  royal 
blood  to  be  spilled  on  American  soil.'  She 
died,  of  course. " 

"  Yes, "  said  Harry,  "  and  spilled  the 
whole  of  her  royal  blood  and  herself  in  the 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  43 

bargain  ;  what  an  old  spook  she  must  have 
been! " 

"  The  next  thing,"  continued  grand- 
ma. "  was  to  consider  and  make  plans  for 
the  due  celebration  of  the  fourth  of  July 
in  the  future  years.  It  was  decided  to 
make  it  a  legal  holiday  to  perpetuity.  The 
first  anniversary,  we  thought,  should  be 
kept  with  as  much  pomp  as  circumstances 
would  permit:  meetings  were  held  from 
time  to  time  to  devise  means,  ways,  etc., 
for  the  celebration  of  1777.  The  conclu- 
sion was  to  have  a  barbecued  dinner  in 
every  district  of  the  country,  and  a  ball 
at  night.  Well,  such  preparations  you 
cannot  imagine.  Some  weeks  beforehand, 
a  committee  of  gentlemen  in  our  dis- 
trict met  for  the  purpose  of  selecting 
a  delightful  grove  for  our  entertainment. 

"  They  found  in  my  father's  wood  a  very 
suitable  spot  and  at  once  had  it  ploughed, 
rolled  and  beaten  till  the  ground,  for  about 


44  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

a  quarter  of  a  mile,  was  as  hard  as  marble  ; 
the  dancing  grounds,  especially,  were 
lovely,  and  no  marbled  floor  of  Italy  could 
have  been  smoother  and  more  fit  for 
dancing.  Every  family  agreed  to  send 
supplies  for  the  table,  and  you  know 
barbecue  means  that  all  the  animals, 
poultry,  etc.,  are  to  be  cooked  whole,  and, 
my  children,  it  was  a  curious  sight  to  see 
the  long  tables  set  off  with  lambs,  pigs, 
chickens,  ducks,  etc.,  all  looking  so  life- 
like that  you  might  have  expected  to  hear 
the  pigs  squeak  or  the  ducks  say  quack, 
quack,  etc.  The  desserts  were  very  hand- 
some and  delicious;  we  met  about  ten  a.m. 
and  danced  till  half-past  twelve,  then  had 
dinner  which  lasted  till  about  two, and  after 
a  short  recess  we  danced  again  till  five, 
when  we  had  supper.  The  children  had 
their  table  to  themselves  in  a  far  off  corner, 
and  the  little  rogues  enjoyed  it.  The 
branches  of  the  trees  were  so  closely  inter- 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  45 

laced,  that  not  a  ray  of  the  sun  could  get 
in  at  any  hour  of  the  day.  The  children 
were  sent  home  about  six.  We  began  the 
ball  about  eight,  danced  till  twelve,  then 
stopped  to  take  cake  and  lemonade, 
resumed  the  dance  and  kept  it  up  till 
broad  daylight. 

"Now,  I  must  tell  you  about  our  dresses. 
All  the  ladies  agreed  to  appear  in  home- 
spun apparel.  I  made  two  fine  linen 
dresses  for  the  occasion,  and  three  pairs  of 
sheepskin  slippers.  One  pair  I  trimmed 
with  blue  satin  ribbon,  another  with  pink, 
and  the  third  with  white.  I  danced  out 
the  blue  trimmed  ones  before  dinner,  the 
pink  ones  in  the  afternoon,  and  the  white 
at  night. 

"•  One  of  my  dresses  was  striped  with 
blue  and  pink,  the  other  pure  white." 

"My!  grandma,  were  you  not  tired  to 
death  after  all  that?  ''  asked  Edward. 

"  No,  indeed,  child,  I  could  have  gone 


46  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

over  the  whole  again  without  stopping  and 
without  being  fatigued.  We  allowed  the 
domestics  to  enjoy  the  remnants  of  the 
dinner  and  supper,  so  they  had  their  turn 
the  next  day  and  enjoyed  it,  too.  We 
depended  on  them  for  the  safe  return  of 
the  dishes,  etc.,  and  not  one  was  broken 
or  lost. 

"  The  frolicking  in  our  district  was  con- 
tinued for  several  weeks.  We  had  sailing 
parties  on  the  Potomac,  fishing  parties, 
dances  at  night,  etc..  until  I  believe  some 
^vere  tired.  We  began  to  feel  that  our 
country  was  safe  and  free,  though  we  knew 
our  poor  men  were  still  fighting  for  liberty, 
and,  many  a  hard  battle  had  they  after  the 
Declaration  of  Independence. 

"  In  1778,  France  acknowledged  our 
freedom  from  England.  General  Lafayette, 
you  know,  came  to  our  relief  in  April 
1777,  and  he  brought  over  quite  a  number 
of  well-disciplined  Frenchmen,  though  few 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  47 

are  mentioned  in  history.  They  were 
everything  to  our  army.  Cornwallis,  you 
know,  surrendered  to  General  Washington 
at  Yorktown,  Va.,  October  19, 1781,  so  we 
had  a  long,  trying  struggle.  However,  the 
old  ladies  that  were  so  terribly  worried 
about  the  tea  and  glass,  were  comparatively 
at  ease.  Good  Mrs.  Dempsey  expressed 
her  willingness  to  depart  for  a  better  world. 
She  was  never  obliged  to  patch  her  windows 
with  sheepskin,  and  I  heard  her  daughters 
married  to  her  satisfaction  and  did  well. 
Mrs.  Lyons  used  her  six  glass  tumblers 
when  Jimmy  Jinks  returned  from  the  war, 
and  they  made  quite  a  display  on  the 
waiter  my  mother  sent  'our  Jane,'  for  a 
wedding  present. 

"After  the  surrender  many  of  the  Red- 
coats, especially  the  Hessians,  dodged 
around  our  place  and  skulked  through  the 
country;  they  met  with  very  little  en- 
couragement to  remain,  for  we  were  wish- 


48  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

ing  to  see  them  get  out  as  fast  as  the  ocean 
could  drift  them  over  to  their  own  lands. 
Our  own  poor  men  came  back  to  us  des- 
titute of  everything  but  their  skin,  and 
many  had  lost  a  good  portion  of  that 
precious  article.  They  soon  recuperated 
and  enjoyed  for  the  rest  of  their  lives  the 
peace  and  liberty  so  dearly  purchased. 
Many  families  had  to  lament  the  loss  of 
loved  ones,  but  knowing  the  glorious  cause 
for  which  they  laid  down  their  lives,  none 
could  grieve. 

"Some  other  time  I  may  be  able  to  relate 
a  few  pleasant  events  that  occured  after  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  but  cannot 
now,  a^  I  see  poor  little  Nett  is  dozing. 
To-morrow  evening  you  shall  hear  all 
about  my  meeting  with  General  Lafayette 
and  the  grand  ball  he  gave  in  Bladensburg. 
Good  night,  my  darlings.  " 


PART  III. 


GENERAL    LAFAYETTE   AND    HIS    BALL    IN 
BLADENSBURG. 

"\T  7ELL,  children,"  said  grandma,  "I 
'  •  promised  to  tell  you  about  General 
Lafayette;  he  was  truly  a  great  man.  You 
know  he  arrived  in  this  country  in  1777, 
and  history  says  he  brought  over  eleven  offi- 
cers; from  what  we  saw,  there  must  have 
been  many  well-bred  gentlemen  among 
his  subordinates.  I  never  beheld  finer 
looking  men.  You  know,  also,  that  La- 
fayette fitted  out  the  vessel  and  crew  at 
his  own  expense,  so  he  must  have  been  a 
wealthy  man  and  one  of  influence;  he  was 
a  marquis  in  France,  and,  of  course,  that 
means  something  there.  Congress,  almost 
immediately,  appointed  him  to  the  rank  of 


50  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

major-general  in  our  army,  and  a  portion 
of  our  troops  were  assigned  him.  The 
first  battle  he  engaged  in,  was  that  of 
Brandy  wine,  and  our  men  were  routed. 
Toward  winter,  Washington  moved  far- 
ther down  the  country  and  took  up  his 
winter-quarters  at  Valley  Forge ;  Lafayette 
and  his  portion  of  the  army  quartered 
around  Blandensburg;  the  officers  lodged 
at  the  hotel  kept  by  Colonel  Bradford;  in 
those  days,  only  first  class  men  such  as  Col- 
onel Bradford,  a  man  of  wealth  and  position 
kept  first-class  hotels.  General  Lafayette 
made  himself  very  agreeable,  and  as  Colonel 
Bradford  had  three  handsome  and  accom- 
plished daughters,  Lafayette  frequently 
slipped  into  their  private  parlor,  and  it 
was  there  I  first  met  him.  He  was  a 
grand  looking  man,  tall  and  graceful,  a 
fine  dancer  and  good  musician;  his  broken 
English  often  amused  us.  He  told  many 
interesting  anecdotes  and  incidents  of 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  51 

his  country,  and  we  could  plainly  see 
he  was  in  favor  of  Republicanism.  He  ex- 
pressed a  great  desire  to  become  acquainted 
with  our  American  ladies,  and  said  he  had 
heard  much  of  their  beauty,  elegance  of 
manners,  etc.  At  length  he  proposed  to 
Colonel  Bradford,  or  asked  as  a  favor  that 
he  would  be  allowed  to  give  a  French  ball 
in  his  hotel;  of  course,  the  colonel  agreed, 
and  you  may  imagine  the  joy  and  excite- 
ment of  the  ladies,  old  and  young,  when  it 
was  made  known,  and  such  preparations 
for  a  ball  I  suppose  had  never  been  made 
in  old  times  or  new. 

"  In  those  days  few  ladies  had  more  than 
two  silk  gowns,  but  they  were  very  hand- 
some. It  was  the  custom  for  every  lady  to 
be  married  in  white  satin  and  to  have,  for 
what  they  called  'the  second  day's  dress,' 
a  handsome  brocaded  silk:  we  do  not  see 
such  silks  nowadays.  I  assure  you,  chil- 
dren, a  dress  would  almost  stand  alone,  so 


52  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

thick  and  heavy  was  the  material.  The 
young  or  unmarried  ladies  seldom  wore 
silk;  taffeta  and  pongee,  both  a  fine  texture 
or  fabric  of  silk  and  thread,  or  silk  and 
worsted,  were  their  fashionable  dress- 
goods,  with  cambric  and  muslin  of  the  fin- 
est texture,  and  sometimes  very  fine  linen 
lawn,  though  that  was  considered  expen- 
sive."' 

ktWhat  did  you  wear,  grandma?"  asked 
Charlie. 

"Why,  child,  I  wore  a  blue  taffeta  trim- 
med with  white  satin,  and  it  was  considered 
a  handsome  dress.  Mrs.  Washington  wore 
a  brown  satin,  with  pearl  necklace  and 
ornaments.  She  was  escorted  to  the  ball 
by  her  cousin,  Major  Fairfax,  but  would 
not  dance ;  she  said  her  partner  was  absent, 
and  there  was  no  enjoyment  for  her  while 
she  knew  him  to  be  exposed  to  the  dangers 
of  war.  She  joined  in  the  promenade  and 
left  soon  after  the  supper. 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  53 

Everything  was  on  the  grandest  scale  ; 
the  hall  lighted  with  reflectors  and  colored 
lamps  inside  and  outside  the  house,  gave  a 
fairy-like  appearance  to  everything ;  the 
scene  was  enchanting,  Lafayette  and  all 
the  officers  wore  red  velvet  coats  lined 
with  white  satin ;  the  tails  of  their  coats 
were  square  and  stood  out  as  if  stiffened ; 
their  waistcoats  extended  to  the  hips  and 
showed  to  perfection  the  beautiful  ruffled 
shirt  bosoms,  set  off  with  a  diamond  or 
pearl  pin.  All  wore  short  breeches  of  a 
fawn  color,  either  cloth  or  some  other 
material  that  we  knew  not  the  name  of; 
their  long  white  silk  stockings  were  fast- 
ened with  gold  buckles,  and  their  slippers 
were  of  a  soft,  black  kid,  fastened  also  with 
gilt  buckles  ;  in  those  days  the  gentlemen's 
slippers  were  called  pumps.  It  was  the 
style  for  both  ladies  and  gentlemen  to 
wear  the  hair  powdered  ;  the  gentlemen 
had  long  cues  tied  with  ribbon.  General 


54  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

Lafayette  wore  a  bow  of  white  satin  on  his 
cue.  Many  gentlemen  kept  wigs  on  hand 
so  as  to  be  always  ready  for  an  entertain- 
ment. They  brushed  back  their  hair  that 
not  a  strand  could  be  seen  by  which  the 
color  would  be  known,  therefore,  some 
with  very  black  hair  wore  white  wigs  and 
all  appeared  alike,  old  and  young.  The 
ladies  wore  long  trains  to  their  dresses 
and  when  they  danced  the  train  or  trail,  as 
some  called  it,  was  thrown  over  the  left 
arm.  The  dance  of  the  times  was  the 
minuet  and  at  one  of  the  figures  the  train 
was  dropped  for  a  series  of  courtesies ;  it 
was  a  part  of  the  ceremony  for  the  partner 
to  lift  the  train  at  the  proper  time,  and  I 
believe  the  gentlemen  made  it  one  of  their 
practices  to  do  it  gracefully. 

"I  have  always  been  so  sorry,  children," 
said  grandma,  "that  knee-breeches  went 
out  of  fashion  for  the  gentlemen,  and  can 
truly  say  I  have  never  since  seen  a  gentle- 


GRANDMAS    STORIES.  OO> 

man  in  what  I  called  a  real,  full  dress.  I  have 
never  liked  long  trousers  and  the  short 
vest.  General  Lafayette  asked,  byway  of 
a  compliment,  I  suppose,  to  lead  off  the 
ball  with  Miss  Nancy  Bradford,*  and  she 
was  a  suitable  partner  for  him,  being  hand- 
some and  graceful.  The  supper  table  was. 
elaborately  set  and  you  must  believe  me 
when  I  say  we  drank  out  of  solid  gold 
wine-cups,  all  belonging  to  the  French 
troops  or,  I  suppose,  to  the  general.  The 
last  dance  was  after  supper,  and  we 
wound  up  with  a  slow  and  graceful  promen- 
ade, a  little  different  from  the  entrance 
one.  You  may  be  sure  we  had  enough  to  talk 
about  for  months  and  even  to  this  day. 

"As  General  Lafayette  had  been  anxious- 
to  see  the  elite  of  American  ladies,  they  in 
turn  expressed  a  desire  to  see  the  French 
officers  in  full  uniform;  therefore,  Colonel 


*Miss  Nancy  afterward  married  Major  Boarman 
of  Charles  County,  Maryland. 


56  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

Bradford  gave  an  entertainment  to  which 
he  invited  both  French  and  American 
officers. 

"The  same  ceremony  was  gone  through 
as  for  the  French  ball,  and  it  was  worth 
seeing.  All  the  officers  wore  full  dress, 
even  the  chapeau  de  bras  and  sword.  One 
of  the  old  ladies  asked  the  meaning  of 
chapeau  de  bras,  and  her  daughter  told 
her  it  meant  gilt  spurs  and  copper  heels. 
After  the  opening  promenade,  a  valet 
approached  each  officer  to  remove  his 
chapeau  de  bras  and  sword,  as  it  was  con- 
sidered contrary  to  etiquette  to  wear  them 
when  dancing. 

"Mrs.  Washington  made  her  appearance 
when  the  entertainment  was  about  half 
over;  her  escort  was  Baron  de  Kalb,  one  of 
Lafayette's  companions ;  he  had  lately 
come  from  Valley  Forge  and  gave  good 
tidings  of  General  Washington,  though  the 
suffering  there  had  been  excessive  and 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  57 

not  a  few  had  died  from  the  want  of 
clothing  and  protection  from  the  severity 
of  the  season." 

"Toward  the  latter  part  of  February, 
Mrs.  Washington  called  on  the  ladies  of 
Virginia  and  Maryland  to  assist  in  collect- 
ing clothes  and  other  necessary  articles  for 
the  poor  soldiers  in  different  portions  of 
the  northern  Colonies.  You  know,  chil- 
dren," continued  grandma,  "that  we  had 
not  states  then;  we  formed  what  they  called 
the  United  Colonies.  Well,  we  responded 
to  Mrs.  Washington's  appeal,  and  soon  we 
had  wagon  loads  that  were  sent  under 
guards  to  the  appointed  places. 

"The  latter  part  of  that  year  of  1778, 
we  heard  of  Lafayette's  departure  for 
France,  his  object  being  to  collect  money 
and  whatever  he  could  for  dear  America. 
He  did  not  return  till  1780,  when  he  re- 
joined Washington  and  took  part  in  the 
fight  for  American  freedom. 


58  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

"In  1781,  Washington,  Lafayette  and 
others  pushed  forward  to  the  southern 
Colonies.  Cornwallis  was  marauding- 
Virginia  and  its  surroundings  and  Wash- 
ington had  serious  apprehensions.  Corn- 
wallis had  destroyed  about  815,000,000 
worth  of  property  and  had  taken  his 
position  at  Yorktown.  A  French  fleet 
under  the  command  of  Count  de  Grasse 
arrived  off  the  coast  of  Virginia  and  re- 
mained in  the  Chesapeake  waters  awaiting 
orders  from  Washington,  who  directed  him 
to  attack  the  British  at  Yorktown. 

"On  the  twenty-eighth  of  September,  the 
combined  forces  began  the  bombardment,, 
and  Cornwallis,  seeing  no  hope  of  escape, 
surrendered  to  Washington  ;  the  capitula- 
tion took  place  October  19th,  1781,  a  day 
of  real  gladness  for  all  Americans,  though 
I  told  you  this  before. 

"Cornwallis  feigned  sickness  and  de- 
puted General  O'Hara  to  meet  Washing- 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  59 

ton  who  showed  magnanimity  beyond 
description.  The  surrender  virtually 
closed  the  long  war  with  England.  The 
Treaty  of  Peace  was  signed  at  Paris, 
September  8,  1783,  and  the  British  left 
the  country  November  25th,  following. 

"Washington  bade  farewell  to  his  sol- 
diers soon  after  and  retired  to  his  resi- 
dence in  Virginia,  a  beautiful  place  called 
Mount  Vernon.  Lafayette  and  his  French 
companions  returned  to  France,  and  took 
a  conspicuous  part  in  the  awful  revolution 
of  1798.  He  returned  for  a  social  visit  to 
this  country  in  the  year  1824,  and  was 
received  with  all  the  honors  due  to  his 
merit. 

Our  country  began,  after  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  to  recover  its  losses, 
and  in  a  few  years  was  on  a  solid  footing, 
coping  with  other  great  nations.  I  must, 
another  time,  tell  you  something  of  the 
ways,  customs,  and  hardships  of  our 


60  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

colonial  days,  and  maybe  you  will  say 
you  are  not  sorry  for  being  in  the  after 
times,  so  much  easier  and  in  some  respects 
better,  though  I  must  adhere  to  my  first 
saying  :  'No  times  can  be  like  our  good 
old  times.'  Now,  let  us  have  good  night, 
and  may  God  Almighty  bless  you,  my  dear 
children." 


PART  IV. 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  COLONIAL, 
DAYS. 

"  \T7ELL,  now,  children,  where    shall 
»  •        I    begin?"    said    our   dear,    old 
grandma. 

"Anywhere,  grandma,  that  suits  you." 
"Then,  I  will  tell  you  first  how  we  pre- 
pared our  clothing,  and  begin  with  the 
cotton.  We  planted  the  seed  in  the  spring 
and  soon  we  saw  the  beautiful  green  bushes 
growing  as  tall,  some  of  them,  as  Master 
Charlie  or  Edward.  In  the  fall,  the  burrs 
opened  with  the  frost,  and  early  in  the 
morning  we  would  go  out  with  large 
baskets  to  gather  the  cotton.  When  dry 
we  picked  it,  that  is,  we  removed  the  cot- 


62  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

ton  from  the  burrs,  which  was  a  pleasant 
pastime  in  the  long  winter  nights.  You 
know  the  seed  of  cotton  contains  an  oil, 
and  when  it  becomes  heated,  the  cotton  is 
easily  taken  off;  sometimes  we  threw  the 
burrs  or  seed  in  the  fire  when  the  wood 
was  burning  low.  You  know  we  had  noth- 
ing but  wood  fires  in  those  days;  the 
fireplaces  were  very  wide,  and  andirons 
supported  the  wood.  Those  in  the  parlors 
were  made  of  highly  polished  brass;  the 
beautiful  fenders,  shovel  and  tongs,  were 
also  of  brass,  highly  ornamented,  and,  my 
dear  children,  I  know  of  nothing  prettier 
than  a  bright  wood  fire  reflecting  its 
glowing  flames  upon  everything  around:  it 
was  cozy  and  enchanting. 

After  the  cotton-picking,  we  generally 
had  apples  and  nuts  or,  perhaps,  a  taffy- 
stew.  When  several  young  people  gathered 
together,  they  sometimes  wound  up  with  a 
dance:  altogether,  we  had  pleasant  even- 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  63 

ings  in  those  good  old  times.  I  must  tell 
you  here  a  little  event  that  may  amuse 
you,"  said  grandma,  with  a  little  twitch  of 
mischief  in  her  eye. 

"One  evening,  soon  after  the  marriage 
of  your  father  and  mother,  a  few  young 
people  came  for  tea  ;  two  of  the  young 
ladies  came  to  my  room  to  prepare  their 
toilette  ;  one  of  them*  had  false  curls  in 
her  reticule,  and  taking  them  out,  she  laid 
them  on  the  warm  hearth  to  soften  the 
pomatum,  which  you  know  makes  the  curls 
fall  more  gracefully.  Well,  I  saw  them 
on  the  hearth  and  took  them  for  cotton 
burrs  ;  reaching  for  a  little  broom,  I  swept 
them  into  the  fire.  When  she  was  ready 
for  her  curls  she  could  not  find  them 
and  declared  she  had  put  them  on  the 
hearth.  I  heard  her  and  it  immediately 


*Miss  Juliaun  Bevan,  who  later  became  a  Sister 
of  Charity  at  Emmitsburg  and  died  there  many 
years  ago. 


64  GRANDMA'S  STCRIES 

occurred  to  me  that  I  had  swept  them  in  t  he 
fire  and  I  told  her  so.  I  shall  never  forget 
her  consternation ;  she  had  to  appeal- 
without  her  beautifiers  that  evening." 

And  grandma  seemed  to  enjoy  the  joke. 
"Was  she  angry,  grandma?"  asked  I. 

"  Don't  know,  child ;  she  was  polite 
enough  to  make  the  best  of  it,  and  I  fancied 
she  was  just  as  pretty  without  her  curls, 
though  no  beauty  by  any  means. 

"After  the  cotton  was  picked,  we  had  to 
card  and  spin  it,  then  wind  it  into  balls 
and  send  it  to  the  weavers.  All  of  us  had 
very  pretty  cotton  dresses  with  little  stripes 
of  blue,  or  pink,  etc.  That  is  sufficient 
about  the  cotton,  isn't  it?"  asked  grandma. 

"Well,  now,  about  the  linen  ;  that  was 
made  from  the  flax  we  grew  on  the  place. 
It  was  carded  into  tow,  then  spun  out  on  a 
small  wheel,  into  fine  fibres  or  threads. 
All  the  underclothing,  sheets,  pillow-cases, 
table-linen,  etc.,  were  made  from  the 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  65 

flax,  and  it  was  very  interesting  work.  In 
fact,  everything  about  farming  and 
domestic  employment  was  charming  to 
those  that  liked  it,  and  most  of  the  ladies 
enjoyed  it  immensely.  We  all  knew  how 
to  knit  stockings,  socks,  gloves,  etc.,  and 
sometimes  we  knit  the  underwear  for  the 
more  advanced  in  years  who  needed 
warmer  clothing.  I  knit  my  father  a  full 
set  of  everything  he  required  in  that  line. 
"The  older  gentlemen  liked  their  coats? 
etc.,  of  white  flannel,  and  a  very  pretty 
sort  was  woven  for  that  purpose.  We 
made  our  carpets  of  rags  sewed  together 
and  wound  into  large  balls,  and  some- 
times we  dyed  them  very  bright  colors. 
The  red  was  dyed  with  sumach  berries  set 
with  copperas,  the  black  with  walnut  hulls, 
and  the  yellow  with  peach  leaves  or 
saffron  ;  the  saffron  plant  was  largely  cul- 
tivated, and  we  used  it  for  its  lovely 
flowers,  when  arranging  the  large  pots  that 


bb  GRANDMA  S    STORIES. 

stood  in  the  fire-places  during  the  summer. 
The  farmers  raised  all  their  own  grain, 
and  every  family  had  a  handmill  with 
which  they  ground  their  flour,  meal,  etc.,  for 
common  use.  We  sent  much  of  the  wheat 
to  the  water-mills  and  had  it  ground  into 
tine  flour,  which  we  kept  for  pies,  cakes,  etc. 
Rye  flour  also  made  very  sweet  bread  for 
daily  use,  though  corn-meal  was  the  staple 
for  breadstuffs.  I  must  tell  you  the  origin 
of  our  nice  'hoe-cakes'  and  delicious  'john- 
ny-cake.' Lord  Calvert,  to  gain  the 
friendship  of  the  Indians,  presented  them 
with  many  little  trinkets  ;  in  gratitude 
they  showed  the  white  man  how  to  use  the 
corn-meal.  On  little  griddles  they  baked 
what  they  called  'hoe-cake,?  and  on 
long,  narrow  boards  that  stood  before  the 
fire,  they  baked  the  'johnny-cake'  which 
you  all  are  so  fond  of,  so  you  see  we  are 
indebted  to  the  poor  Indians  for  something. 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  67 

J  believe  they  were  disposed  to  be  very 
kind  to  the  English  people." 

u  Tell  us,  grandma, "  said  Charlie,  "how 
the  water-mills  were  worked.  " 

"  Well,  child,  there  was  a  large  and 
deep  pond  or  dam  of  water  just  ahead  of 
the  mill;  immensely  heavy  and  thick  gates, 
called  'flood-gates,'  were  kept  down  to  pre- 
vent the  water  escaping  from  the  dam  until 
it  rose  high  enough  to  work  the  wheels. 
When  the  miller  raised  those  gates,  the  rush 
of  water  was  terrifying  and  the  noise 
deafening,  so  that  every  miller  was  a  very 
loud  and  high-toned  talker.  Whenever 
you  hear  a  person  speaking  very  loudly  or 
in  a  boisterous  manner,  you  may  ask,  as  we 
used  to  do:  'Is  he  a  miller?'  " 

"  What  kind  of  bonnets  did  you  wear, 
those  days,  grandma?"  enquired  Nettie. 

"Beautiful  bonnets  and  hats,  my  dear, 
made  of  platted  straw,  which  we  dried  our- 
selves when  the  wheat  and  rye  were 


68  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

gathered  in;  we  also  pegged  a  sort  of 
material  that  was  very  pretty  for  bonnets. 
What  you  call  crocheting  now,  we  called 
pegging ;  you  know  the  crochet  needle  has 
a  little  hook  which  we  named  the  peg. 
Once  my  brother  Sam  was  going  hunting 
and  told  me  over  night  he  had  no  gloves 
to  wear  and  it  was  very  cold.  I  began  to 
peg  a  pair  about  eight  o'clock  and  finished 
one  that  night;  next  morning  I  was  up 
by  times  and  before  breakfast  I  had  the 
other  done;  now,  wasn't  that  smart  in 
grandma? 

"  We  felt  the  want  of  coffee  and  tea 
more  than  anything  else,  as  we  were  out 
of  the  city  limits  and  often  had  not  the 
time  to  send  for  such  things;  we  generally 
laid  in  our  groceries  in  the  fall  and  spring. 
We  supplied  the  want  of  coffee  by  roast- 
ing rye  or  gumbo,  and  you  would  be 
surprised  what  nice  coffee  they  made.  Our 
salt  was  procured  from  persons  living  near 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  69 

the  bay  or  salt-water  rivers.  It  was  manu- 
factured by  evaporation.  The  farmers 
raised  a  great  deal  of  tobacco,  which  they 
sold  to  the  neighboring  merchants,  or  ex- 
changed for  useful  commodities,  such  as 
dry-goods,  shoes,  etc.,  though  very  nearly 
every  family  had  its  own  shoemaker  and 
weaver.  We  lived  rather  economically, 
those  times,  while  having  an  abundance  of 
everything  needed  for  comfort  and  domes- 
tic life. 

•  "There  were  very  few  really  indigent 
and  all  were  kind  in  assisting  one  another. 
Certainly  we  enjoyed  great  happiness:  there 
was  no  jealousy  about  style  and  fashion 
that  I  hear  of  now-a-days.  But  there  was 
one  serious  trouble,  my  children.  We  were 
obliged  by  English  law  to  contribute  to 
the  Protestant  minister,  the  tithes  of  all  we 
made,  and  I  can  tell  you,  it  took  the  heart 
out  of  me  to  see  the  wagon-loads  of  grain, 


70  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

tobacco,  etc.,  going  to  one  so  hard  on  the 
poor  Catholics. 

"He  was  the  wealthiest  man  in  the  United 
Colonies;  had  one  child  only,  said  to  be  a 
very  lovely  girl.  Professors  or  teachers 
were  brought  from  England  to  cultivate 
her  talents,  and  she  was  pronounced  ac- 
complished beyond  everything  ever  known 
before  in  America. 

ult  was  very  usual  in  those  days  to  hear 
it  said:  'such  a  one  has  gone  home  to 
England,  for  this,  that  and  the  other. ' 

"Well,  the  old  minister  made  very  little 
by  his  riches.  His  daughter  married  a 
very  clever,  fast-living  gentleman,  who,  in 
a  few  years  made  way  with  the  fortune, 
and  not  a  penny  is  now  to  be  found  in  the 
hands  of  the  new  generations,  nothing  that 
once  formed  a  portion  of  the  plantations, 
bank  stock,  etc.,  so  cherishedby  the  domino. 
Some  of  the  grandchildren  still  survive,  but 
they  are  very  destitute  of  this  world's  goods: 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  71 

truly,  a  mark  of  God's  retributive  justice,  " 
and  grandma  shook  her  head  sorrowfully. 

"Grandma,"  queried  my  brother  Edward, 
"why  is  it  that  the  English  people  seem 
always  to  have  had  such  an  ill  feeling  to- 
wards the  Catholics?" 

"That  is  easily  accounted  for,  my  dear," 
replied  grandma.  "Don't  you  know  that 
Pope  Paul  III.  refused  to  annul  the  mar- 
riage of  Catherine  of  Aragon  with  King 
Henry  VIII.  because  our  holy  Church 
forbids  divorce?  Well,  the  mighty  sover- 
eign became  very  angry  with  the  pope  and 
declared  himself  head  of  the  Church  in 
England,  and  from  that  epoch,  1534, 
Catholicity  has  been  held  in  abomination  by 
the  English  nation.  The  Catholic  spirit, 
however,  lingers  around  the  throne  and 
among  the  people,  notwithstanding  the  hat- 
red to  everything  in  the  Church  of  Rome." 

"Grandma,"  asked  Charlie,  "how  did 
you  all  travel  in  those  good,  olden  times?" 


72  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

"What  a  question,  Charlie,"  responded 
grandma.  "We  had  very  few  carriages, 
it  is  true,  but  we  managed  to  get  along 
pretty  well.  Many  of  the  richest  loved 
to  ride  on  horseback;  we  had  fine  horses 
and  our  ladies  rode  gracefully ;  I  wish 
you  could  have  seen  them  on  the  fox- chase. 
The  first  carriage  or  coach  brought  to  the 
Colonies  was  owned  by  the  Squire  Lee  of 
whom  I  spoke  last  night.  Some  had  a 
very  neat  little  vehicle  called  'Carry-air 
and  a  ride  in  it  was  always  desirable.  It 
held  many. 

"The  would-be  lords  of  creation,  or  aris- 
tocrats, drove  the  stylish  'gig  and  tandem;' 
that  meant  the  gig  with  two,  three,  and 
often  four  fine  horses  harnessed  in  single 
file  to  the  gig,  driven  by  a  coachman  in 
livery,  while  the  proud  old  lord  looked  on 
with  contempt  at  the  pedestrians  and  gal- 
lant riders  met  on  the  way. 

It  was  really  a  very  handsome  sight  to 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  73 

behold  several  of  those  brilliant  equipages 
on  the  road  at  one  time. 

"The  phaeton  was  also  in  great  vogue 
among  the  grandees.  It  was  usually  drawn 
by  two  horses,  though  some  of  the  old 
English  potentates  revelled  in  the  show  of 
four  fine  animals,  capering  to  the  caprice 
of  the  haughty  owner. 

"Those  English  nobility  were  very  osten- 
tatious, self-conceited  people  and  as  much 
•disliked  in  the  new  country  as  they  had  been 
in  the  old.  We  often  wished  them  back 
under  their  old  kings  and  tyrannical 
masters. 

"Of  course,  we  ceased  to  contribute  to 
the  support  of  the  English  Church,  after 
Independence  was  declared  and  our  men 
began  to  make  laws  to  suit  the  Republic. 

"In  some  years  the  Catholics  could  look 
up,  though  for  a  long  time  a  secret  perse- 
cution went  on  that  could  not  be  controlled 
or  taken  hold  of.  Catholics  were  regarded 


74  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

as  a  set  of  ignorant  people,  who  knew 
nothing  but  a  few  prayers  and  supersti- 
tious practices ;  unfortunately  for  them,  the 
larger  portion  of  our  population,  at  that 
period,  were  dissenters  from  Rome,  backed 
in  their  belief  and  bigotry  by  the  powers 
of  Great  Britain  and  their  own  immense 
wealth,  consequently  their  influence  was 
great. 

"For  a  long  time  we  were  not  allowed  to 
have  Catholic  Churches.  The  divine  ser- 
vice was  given  us  at  rare  intervals  and  us- 
ually in  private  residences.  By  degrees 
our  numbers  increased,  and  we  were  able 
to  construct  throughout  the  district, 
little  chapels  here  and  there,  or  within 
twenty  miles  of  each  other. 

"One  priest  attended  to  several  churches 
and  by  that  means  we  heard  holy  Mass  at 
least  three  or  four  times  a  year. 

"In  every  congregation  there  were  Catho- 
lic homes  called  the  Stations.  The  pastor 


GRANDMA'S    STORIES.  75 

would  announce  on  Sunday  the  Station  he 
would  be  at  on  a  certain  day  of  the  weekT 
and,  my  dear  children,  you  would  have 
wondered  at  the  nnmbers  of  old  and  infirm 
that  would  arrive  by  the  wagon-load,  at  the 
appointed  place.  It  was  my  privilege  for 
years  to  attend  to  the  service,  etc.,  at 
my  father's.  Long  before  any  of  us  were 
up  in  the  morning,  the  front  yard  would  be 
crowded  with  men,  women,  babies  and 
children  of  all  ages  and  sizes.  It  was  an 
amusing,  though  edfying  spectacle  for  us  to 
behold  ;  sometimes  we  might  well  have 
selected  from  the  motley  crowd,  old  Father 
Noah,  his  wife,  his  three  sons  and  three 
daughters-in-law;  so  many  looked  as  if  just 
out  of  the  ark.  When  the  season  was  faiiv 
we  erected  a  temporary  altar  in  the  yard 
and  many  times  have  I  seen  our  good  old 
pastor  go  to  the  wagons  that  contained  the 
helpless  and  aged,  and  give  them  the  Bread 
of  Life,  with  tears  streaming  from  his  eyes. 


76  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

at  beholding  such  profound  veneration, 
piety  and  devotion  in  that  lowly  and 
humble  portion  of  Christ's  vineyard. 

"The  hatred  of  our  dissenting  brethren 
to  the  Catholic  clergy  in  those  times  was 
beyond  anything  I  can  now  describe  ;  one 
instance  will  give  you  an  idea.  The  gentle- 
men of  those  days  were  great  huntsmen, 
and,  in  the  hunting  season,  the  farmers  us- 
ually lowered  the  fencing  for  the  conven- 
ience of  hunters.  Our  holy  pastor*  found 
out  those  short  cuts  and  made  use  of  them, 
as  they  saved  him  many  miles'  ride  in  his 
sick  calls.  On  one  occasion  he  was  riding 
through  the  field  of  an  inveterate  Protes- 
tant, not  knowing  the  fencing  had  been 
raised.  The  farmer  saw  him  and  knew  him 
to  be  the  priest ;  calling  to  his  domestics, 
he  ordered  the  dogs  to  be  loosened  and  set 


*Fr.  David,  afterwards  Bishop  Coadjutor  to  the 
Bishop  of  Bardstown,  Ky.,  consecrated,  August  15, 
1819. 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  77 

upon  the  track  of  the  man  of  God.  His 
dogs  were  considered  the  most  vicious  in 
the  neighborhood  and  the  terror  of  every- 
one; they  were  always  chained  during  the 
day  for  fear  of  serious  trouble.  The 
animals  started  off  in  hot  pursuit  of  the 
priest,  and  just  as  they  reached  him  they 
stopped,  turned  back  and  crouched  at  the 
feet  of  their  master,  trembling  in  every 
limb.  The  darkeys  who  were  in  the  field 
expected  to  see  the  holy  man  torn  to- 
pieces  ;  two  of  them  were  Catholics.  They 
all  declared  that  when  the  dogs  were  in 
the  act  of  springing  upon  the  priest, 
a  white  figure,  the  size  of  a  well  grown  boyy 
stood  by  the  side  of  the  horse,  and 
the  dogs  instantly  turned  and  scam- 
pered as  fast  as  they  could  run.  The 
humble  servant  of  God  turned  back  also 
and  on  coming  up  with  the  farmer,  raised 
his  hat  and  said  most  apologetically:  «I 
beg  your  pardon,  Mr.  N — ,  for  trespassing 


78  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

on  your  grounds.  I  did  not  know  you  ha4 
raised  your  fencing.'  The  farmer,  for  a 
wonder,  raised  his  hat  to  the  priest  and 
replied  :  'You  are  at  liberty,  sir,  to  pass 
through  my  fields  whenever  it  suits  you'; 
then  turning  to  one  of  his  servants,  added, 
•You  be  always  ready  to  lower  the  fencing 
for  this  gentleman,  and  to  raise  it  after  he 
has  passed.'  That  hater  of  Catholic  clergy- 
men was  never  afterward  known  to  say  an 
unkind  word  of  them.  You  see,  children," 
continued  grandma,  "how  the  Lord  watches 
over  His  anointed.  We  cannot  have  too 
much  reverence  for  our  pastors,  and  in  my 
day  we  never  met  a  priest  without  asking 
his  blessing,  but  I  believe  that  holy  custom, 
like  many  others,  is  dying  out  among  our 
Catholic  people.  I  hope  you  will  en- 
deavor to  keep  up  such  old-time  practices 
and  prove  yourselves  worthy  of  your  saint- 
ly ancestors.  I  will  sometime  tell  you  a  few 
pretty  traits  of  the  dear  and  holy  Father 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  79 

David.  He  came  to  the  lower  Maryland 
Missions  in  1792,  or  early  in  '93.  No 
priest  ever  did  more  good  than  he,  and 
his  name  will  ever  be  a  household  word 
among  the  people  of  our  section  of  the 
country." 

"Grandma,"  said  Nett,  "did  you  have 
any  schools  in  your  old  times  ?  I  wish  we 
had  none." 

"Why,  my  darling,  do  you  want  to  be  a 
dunce?'' 

"No,"  replied  the  child,  "but  I  do  hate 
schools  and  books  and  as  to  these  old 
academies,  I  wish  I  could  send  them  out 
of  the  country,  indeed,  I  do." 

"You  needn't  laugh,  Mr.  Charlie  for  I 
know  you  hate  school." 

"Who  told  you  that  ?"  said  Charlie. 

"Why,  I  heard  you  say  the  other  day 
that  skating  did  you  a  great  deal  more 
good  than  the  old  college." 

"I  don't    mind    school    and    books     so 


80  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

much,"  continued  Nettie,  "but  I  do  not 
want  to  be  so  long  away  from  my  canary, 
and  my  kitten,  and  my  pug  dog." 

All  laughed  at  poor  Nett's  heavy  sigh. 

"Well,"  said  grandma,  "I  will  tell  you 
something  about  our  schools.  In  the  first 
place,education  in  the  Colonial  days  could 
not  be  much  attended  to;  facilities  were 
meagre.  We  managed  to  learn  from  our 
fathers  and  mothers  what  they  had 
learned  from  their  parents.  Occasionally 
there  would  come  over  among  the  emi- 
grants or  refugees  from  the  Emerald  Isle, 
gentlemen  of  learning  who  would  be  glad 
to  get  the  position  of  'tutor'  in  private 
families,  or  assume  the  more  onerous  duties 
of  'country  school-master.'  They  taught 
well,  though  it  seems  to  have  been  the 
idea  of  the  times  that  the  mastering  of  the 
'Rule  of  Three'  in  Pike'*  Arithmetic  and 
'Equations'  in  Bonny  castle's  Algebra  con- 
stituted education  sufficient  for  practical 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  81 

life.  The  children  learned  to  write,  not 
on  the  beautifully  ruled  copy  books  of  our 
modern  day,  but  on  a  coarse,  rough  paper, 
the  very  sight  of  which  would  make  our 
delicate  children  nervous  and  their  tender- 
hearted mammas  more  so. 

"Slates  and  pencils  were  scarce;  the 
children  took  them  by  turns  or  borrowed 
from  each  other.  They  used  small  lap- 
boards,painted  white,and  their  crayons  were 
not  the  artistic  charcoal  ones  of  modern 
make,  but  a  bit  of  fire  coal,  which  some  of 
the  boys  were  very  skilful  in  pointing; 
every  clever  lad  took  a  pride  in  keeping  his 
favorite  girl  supplied  with  a  nice  coal 
pencil,  so  you  see  there  was  real  gallantry 
in  the  'Colonial  country  school.'  We 
learned  Latin,  which  was  considered  a 
very  essential  branch  of  education;  spelling 
was  very  much  attended  to,  and  I  think 
we  were  better  spellers  than  some  high 
scholars  of  the  nineteenth  century.  My 

6 


82  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

dear  children,  always  try  to  spell  correct- 
ly.» 

"Ned  wishes  to  know  when  steel  pens 
were  introduced;  well,  we  read  that 
metallic  pens  were  in  use  among  the  ancient 
Romans,  and  that  one  or  more  were  found 
among  the  ruins  of  Pompeii  and  Hercul- 
aneum.  Such  as  I  see  you  have  now 
were  introduced  only  a  few  years  since.  * 

"But,  withal,"  continued  grandma,  "our 
men  and  women  were  educated  and 
highly  cultivated;  I  meet  very  few  now-a- 
days  to  compare  favorably  with  them." 

"Did  children  have  parties  in  your  day, 
grandma?"  asked  Nettie. 

"Why,  yes,  my  dear,  they  had  very  nice 
ones,  but  not  at  night  as  you  all  have 


*The  first  steel  pens  used  in  England  were  in- 
vented by  a  Mr.  Wise,  in  1803,  and  a  Mr.  Pere- 
grine Williamson,  of  Baltimore,  took  out  the 
first  patent  for  manufacturing  them  in  America, 
in  1810. — Chamber's  Encyclopaedia. 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  83 

these  times.  The  little  visitors  were  ex- 
pected to  arrive  about  three  p.m.  and  to 
leave  about  six,  so  that  they  might  be 
snug  in  bed  by  eight." 

"Good  gracious!"  we  all  exclaimed,  "in 
bed  at  eight!  Why,  grandma,  that  was 
barbarous.  The  poor,  little  children  !" 

"Indeed,"  replied  grandma,  "you  would 
all  be  healthier  and  better  every  way  if 
made  to  go  to  bed  earlier  than  you  do ; 
I  do  not  believe  in  children  sitting  up  so. 
late,  or  dancing  and  frolicking  at  night 
like  the  old  people;  we  were  not  allowed 
to  do  it  and  we  were  very  happy,  I  assure 
you.  But  it  is  time  for  me  to  stop  talk- 
ing; I  see  Nett  is  sleepy,  so  good-night, 
my  darlings  and  a  pleasant  rest  to  you.  " 


PART  V. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  OUR  WAR  WITH 
ENGLAND,  1812 1814. 

IT  was  a  real  January  evening.  After 
a  heavy  fall  of  snow  a  drizzling  rain  set 
in,  which  rendered  travel  difficult  and 
out-door  exercise  impossible,  much  to  the 
discomfort  of  our  boys,  Charlie  especially, 
as  he  had  invited  his  skating  club  to  meet 
on  our  pond.  Among  his  Christmas  gifts 
he  had  received  a  pair  of  patent  skates, 
which  we  suruamed  "Seven  League  Boots," 
so  rapidly  did  they  carry  him  over  the  ice, 
and  he  was  anxious  to  show  them  off. 

Mother  said  to  us :  "Why  don't  you  get 
grandma  to  tell  you  one  of  her  stories?  " 

"Sure  enough,"  replied  Charlie,  "run 
up,  Nett,  and  sound  the  old  lady,  then  tell 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  85 

us  how  the  wind  blows,  and  if  you  get  us 
a  story  I'll  pay  you.  " 

"Will  you  give  me  a  pair  of  skates  ?"  said 
Nett. 

"No,"  answered  Charlie,  "but  I  will 
give  you  some  trapped  partridges.  " 

"All  right,"  said  Nett,  and  off  she 
tripped  to  grandma's  room. 

"Grandma,"  said  Nett,  "it  is  an  awful 
evening  and  mother  says,  if  such  another 
day  comes,  she  will  make  the  boys  hem 
towels  or  do  some  kind  of  sewing  ;  they 
are  so  tired  in  the  house  all  day.  " 

"Poor  darlings,"  replied  dear  grandma, 
"tell  them  to  come  up  to  me  and  I  will  tell 
them  a  story." 

That  was  just  the  thing  we  wanted. 

Down  came  Nett  saying:  "All  right, 
grandma  says  come,  come." 

One  might  have  thought  we  had  not 
seen  grandma  for  a  week,  so  joyous  was  the 
meeting,  though  she  had  dined  with  us 


86  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

and  remained  till  nearly  two  o'clock  chat- 
ting, She  usually  dined  and  supped  with 
us,  but  adhered  to  her  old-time  early 
breakfast,  saying  that  she  could  not  wait 
for  us  "  lazy  boots.  " 

•4  Well, "  said  grandma  as  we  entered, 
"do  you  want  a  story?  " 

"  Yes,  indeed,  "  we  exclaimed,  and  Nett 
added,  "  Tell  us,  grandma,  what  you 
promised  about  the  last  war  with  England." 

The  old  lady  took  out  her  watch  and 
seeing  it  was  only  fifteen  minutes  of  five 
said  she  would  have  sufficient  time  to  give 
us  plenty  of  talk  before  the  supper  bell 
would  ring. 

"Can  any  of  you  tell  me,"  she  said,  "what 
caused  the  war?"  No  one  answered. 
"Well"  she  continued,  "the  English 
people  never  got  over  our  shaking  off  their 
yoke,  and  the  acknowledgment  of  our 
independence  by  European  nations  was 
a  thorn  that  rancoredin  their  hearts.  They 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  87 

lost  no  chance  of  showing  it,  and  as  they 
were  always  fighting  with  some  nation  or 
other,  they  needed  soldiers  and  everything 
else,  so  they  had  the  assurance  to  attack 
and  search  our  vessels  on  the  high  seas, 
pretending  we  had  some  of  their  men  in 
our  service,  and  sometimes  they  carried  off 
not  a  few  and  pressed  them  into  their  army, 
or  imprisoned  them.  They  also  entered 
our  waters  and  carried  away  the  vessels. 
All  that  our  government  would  not  put  up 
with.  They  remonstrated  in  vain;  the 
English  became  bolder  until  at  last  Mr. 
Madison,  our  fourth  president,  declared 
war  against  them,  June  19th,  1812. 

In  1813,  we  had  to  fight  their  troops  from 
Canada,  while  numberless  skirmishes  took 
place  on  the  seas,  all  of  which  you  must 
read  about  in  your  histories.  I  will  only  tell 
you  what  occurred  in  our  own  section  of 
the  country,  viz:  Maryland. 

"Early   in    1814,    Admiral    Cockburn. 


88  GBAKDMA'S  STORIES. 

sailed  along  the  coast  of  the  southern 
states  and  later  entered  the  Chesapeake, 
doing  all  he  could  to  intimidate  and  annoy 
the  people. 

"On  August  17th,  he  was  joined  by  a 
large  force  of  infantry  under  the  celebrated 
General  Ross,  who  had  come  over  under 
the  command  of  Admiral  Cockrane.  His- 
tory says,  General  Ross  landed  at  Benedict 
on  the  Patuxent  River,  August  20th, 
with  a  force  of  5,000  men,  and  that  Bene- 
dict is  distant  from  Washington  twenty- 
seven  miles.  That  is  a  mistake,  Benedict 
cannot  be  less  than  forty  miles  from  Wash- 
ington and  Ross  did  not  land  so  strong  a 
force  at  Benedict ;  only  a  small  party 
landed  there,  the  others  proceeded  up  the 
Patuxent,  some  of  whom  landed  at  Notting- 
ham, a  small  town  below  Marlboro  ugh  ;  all 
the  others  landed  in  the  vicinity  of  Marlbo- 
rough,  which  is  about  twenty-seven  miles 
from  Washington.  The  forces  concen- 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  89 

trated  at  Marlborough.  But  I  must  tell 
you  about  those  that  landed  at  Benedict. 
They  marched  to  a  small  village  called 
Bryantown,  five  miles  from  our  residence, 
and  about  twelve  or  fifteen  miles  northwest 
of  Benedict.  They  halted  in  the  village  a 
day  and  night.  Their  conduct  there  was 
not  very  gentlemanly.  On  the  heights, 
there  lived  an  old  lady  named  McPherson. 
As  she  had  known  some  of  the  ravages  of 
the  Revolution,  there  was  not  much  good 
feeling  in  her  heart  for  the  Redcoat. 
When  she  heard  they  were  ascending  the  hill 
leading  to  her  residence,  she  went  out  to 
meet  them,  (as  she  said)  in  her  short  gown 
and  petticoat,  such  as  old  ladies  wore  in 
those  days.  She  accosted  the  general 
very  civilly  and  enquired  what  business  he 
had  with  her.  'We  are  only  reconnoitring, 
madam, '  replied  he.  'Have  you  any  sons  ?' 
"  'Yes,  I  have  one,'  answered  Mrs.  Me., 
'and  he  is  at  the  cannon's  mouth,  ready  to 


90  GBANDMA'S  STOBIES. 

put  a  ball  through  you  or  some  of  your 
comrades.  You  have  no  business  on  our 
land;  we  have  never  interfered  with  you 
and  you  should  have  stayed  at  home,  sir.' 
The  general  smiled  and  enquired  if  she 
could  give  them  something  to  eat. 

"  'Yes,'  said  the  old  lady,  'I  will  give  you, 
in  God's  name,  all  I  have  in  my  cupboard.' 
Then  calling  to  Jim,  the  colored  man,  she 
directed  him  to  put  out  all  he  could  find, 
after  which  she  invited  the  soldiers  into 
her  house. 

"'Whose  rifle  is  that  over  your  door?T 
queried  the  general. 

"  'It  was  my  husband's,  sir,  and  he  used 
it  well  on  your  people  years  ago;  it  was  on 
his  shoulder  when  he  saw  your  Cornwallis 
give  up  to  Washington  at  Yorktown.' 

"  'I  would  like  to  have  it,'  said  the  gen- 
eral. 

"  'You'll  take  my  life  first,  sir,'  said  Mrs. 
McPherson.  'I'll  defend  it  to  my  last  breath 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  91 

and  whoever  dares  to  touch  it  will  feel  the 
weight  of  my  arm.'  She  advanced  to  the 
fireplace,  took  up  a  strong  poker  and  sta- 
tioned herself  beside  the  door  on  which 
hung  the  rifle. 

"  'You  are  very  plucky,'  said  the  general. 

"'Yes,'  she  replied,  'and  all  my  people 
are  of  the  same  stamp,  and  I  can  tell  you, 
sir,  that  many  of  you  who  have  come  in  to 
fight  us  will  never  go  out:  your  old  car- 
casses will  be  left  on  plucky  soil.  Just 
then  Uncle  Jim  entered  with  the  eatables, 
which  he  placed  on  a  table. 

"  'Good  day,  uncle,'  said  the  general. 

"  'Sarvint,  sar,'  answered  Jim. 

"'Will  you  come  with  us,  uncle?'  asked 
the  general. 

"  'No,  sar,  I'se  very  well  satisfied  wid  my 
old  missus,  and  won't  leave  her;  she's  good 
tome.' 

"  'How  long  have  you  been  here,  uncle?' 
said  one  of  the  other  officers. 


92  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

"  'Eber  since  I'se  bin  born,  sar  ;  de  old 
missus  of  all  riz  me,  sar.' 

"  'You  had  better  come  with  us,  and 
may  be  we'll  take  you  whether  or  no,'  said 
the  officer. 

"  'Ah,  sar,'  answered  Jim,  'dat  trick  was 
played  too  often  by  your  daddies  and  grand- 
daddies  in  Gineral  Washington's  war. 
They  took  my  father  and  made  him  tote  an 
old  sick  Hissian  into  Virginnie,  and  dad  said 
he  was  the  heaviest  old  varmint  he  eber 
fetched  on  his  back.  But  dad  was  a  smart 
nigger,  sar,  and  he  done  watch  for  the 
comin'  of  de  night,  and  den  he  cut  sticks 
and  flew  from  the  Britishers,  ha,  ha,  ha.' 

"  'So  you  won't  come,  then?' 

"  'Ah,  sar,  I  know  you  all  too  well  of  old 
and  you  ain't  a  gwine  to  catch  dis  nigger 
asleep. ' 

"No  doubt  they  found  old  Jim  too  smart 
for  their  use. 

"Mrs.    McPherson  had  a   pet   monkey 


GRANDMA'S  STOREES.  9S 

named  Jacko.  When  he  saw  the  Redcoats 
he  ran  to  the  tip-top  of  a  large  old  oak 
in  the  front  yard  and  no  persuasion  or  coax- 
ing could  get  him  down.  One  of  the  offi- 
cers said:  'I'll  bring  him  down.'  Crack 
went  his  rifle  and  poor  Jacko  fell  dead  on 
the  ground.  We  may  imagine  the  anger 
of  the  old  lady.  She  flew  to  her  dear 
monkey,  took  it  in  her  arms  and  turning 
to  the  officer  said:  'You  scoundrel  of  a 
vandal;  that  shows  what  you  are;  what 
harm  did  this  poor  creature  do  to  any  of  you, 
you  vile  rascals.  Begone  off  my  plantation. 
I'm  not  afraid  of  any  of  your  kind,  and 
God  grant  that  you,  sir,  who  killed  my  poor 
monkey  may  soon  fall  as  dead  as  he  is 
now.  Go  off,  every  one  of  you.'  They 
must  have  been  ashamed  of  the  brutality  of 
one  of  their  number,  and  with  a  'good  day, 
madam,'  they  hurried  off. 

"Whilst  this  was  going  on,  Captain  Gor- 
don ascended  the  Potomac.     History  says 


94  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

he  was  very  much  molested  on  the  banks 
of  that  river.  It  might  be  truer  to  say  he 
molested  the  people  on  those  shores,  In 
the  lower  part  of  Charles  County,  in  Mary- 
land, there  is  a  tract  of  land  called  Cobb 
Neck;  it  lies  between  the  Potomac  and 
Wicomico,  and  as  the  name  is  somewhat 
historic,  I  will  give  you  its  origin. 

"In  our  early  days  we  had  no  mint  or 
coins ;  after  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
we  would  not  use  the  English  money. 
Traffic  was  mostly  in  vogue,  that  is,  one 
man  would  trade  cotton  for  corn,  another 
give  his  corn  for  groceries,  etc.,  etc.  They 
had,  however,  bars  or  rolls  of  silver  of  var- 
ious sizes,  the  largest  being  the  dollar  roll. 

"In  moulding  those  bars,  little  divisions 
were  made  so  that  each  piece  could  easily  be 
chopped  off  as  needed.  Every  piece  of  the 
largest  bar  was  the  value  of  a  dollar,  and 
they  were  called  Cobb-dollars  from  the  man 
who  suggested  the  silver  bars,  etc.  With 


«BANDMA'S   STORIES.  95 

such  dollars  that  tract  of  land  was  purchased 
by  the  early  settlers,  hence  the  name 
'Cobb  Neck.' 

"There  lived  in  Cobb  Neck  an  old  gentle- 
man by  the  name  of  Hammersley;  he  was 
a  descendant  of  the  English  and  celebrated 
for  his  exquisite  politeness.  It  was  said 
he  never  passed  the  smallest  child  without 
raising  his  hat  and  saying:  'good  morning,' 
or  'good  afternoon.' 

"Once  he  noticed  an  opossum  crossing  his 
path.  He  stopped  his  horse  and  said  to 
the  animal:  'Pass  by,  Mr.  Possum.'  After 
that  he  was  surnamed  'Possum  Pass  by,' 

'•His  grounds  ran  to  the  water's  edge  of 
the  Potomac,  and  his  residence  was  but  a 
short  distance  from  the  landing.  Captain 
Gordon  cast  anchor  directly  opposite  Mr. 
Hammersley's  plantation.  The  old  gentle- 
man, seeing  several  barges  filled  with  Red- 
coats coming  toward  his  place,  proceeded 
to  the  landing  to  give  them  welcome.  He 


96  GBANDMA'S  STORIES. 

was  most  courteous  and  invited  them  to  hi& 
dwelling,  set  out  wine,  etc.,  and  expressed 
regret  that  his  madam  was  not  at  home  to 
assist  him  in  offeiing  them  hospitality. 
They  conversed  for  a  length  of  time  and 
no  allusion  was  made  to  the  purport  of 
their  visit — plunder.  On  leaving  they 
politely  thanked  Mr.  Hammersley  for  his 
courtesy  and  assured  him  that  nothing  on 
his  place  should  be  disturbed.  In  almost 
every  other  house  in  the  same  section, 
everything  was  lugged  off  that  the  men 
could  lay  hold  of.  The  feather  beds,  pil- 
lows, etc.,  were  taken  to  the  windows  and 
doors,  opened  with  bayonets  and  every 
feather  scattered  to  the  winds.  The  poul- 
try was  shot  down,  the  fruit  and  vegetables 
carried  away,  and  every  outrage  that  could 
be  perpetrated  marked  their  passage 
through  the  neighborhood.  Fortunately, 
the  women,  children,  servants,  horses,  etc., 
had  been  sent  into  the  interior  of  the  coun- 


GRANDMAS    STORIES.  Ht 

try,    and   the  silver  ;mol   other    valuables 
.secreted  in  some  place  of  safety. 

"Some  miles  above  Mr.  Hammersley's,  the 
militia  made  a  desperate  stand  and  a  smart 
skirmish  ensued.  The  British  were  wor- 
sted, then  continued  their  sail  to  Alexan- 
dria, where  they  loaded  their  ships  with 
every  species  of  merchandise.  On  descend- 
ing the  Potomac,  they  fired  several  times 
into  Cobb  Neck,  and,  only  a  few  years 
since,  large  cannon  balls  were  lying  around 
in  the  yards  of  some  of  the  residences. 
They  were  of  immense  Aveight,  and  chil- 
dren could  roll  but  not  lift  them. 

"The  American  forces  were  concen- 
trated near  Washington,  and  their  aim  was 
to  keep  between  the  enemy  and  the  Capital. 
The  British  wound  themselves  betwixt  the 
city  and  the  road  leading  to  Baltimore  by 
Bladensburg.  They  knew  reinforcements 
could  join  the  Americans  from  that  direct- 
ion. They  drew  up  their  lines  on  a  plain 

7 


98  GRANDMA'S  STOIUES. 

near  Bladerisburg,  and  the  Americans 
under  General  Winder,  advanced  to  give 
battle  about  noon,  August  24.  Your 
father,"  said  grandma,  "can  tell  you  more 
of  the  fight  than  I,  as  he  was  a  surgeon  in 
the  marine  corps  under  Commodore 
Barney. 

"Father  had  just  graduated  as  physician  • 
a  few  months  previous,  and  when  vthe  call 
was  made  for  troops  in  Georgetown,  where 
lie  was  at  that  time,  he  enlisted  and 
received  the  appointment  of  surgeon.  He 
said  there  was  no  reason  why  our  men 
should  nothave  been  victorious,  and  thought 
they  would  have  been  but  for  the  cowardice 
of  their  general,  Winder,  who.  when  the 
fight  was  thickest,  galloped  off  at  full 
speed.  Then,  of  course,  the  ranks  broke 
and  the  soldiers  began  to  scamper  in  all 
directions.  Commodore  Barney  and  his 
marines  fought  to  the  last,  and  fired  back- 
ward, when  retreating  from  the  enemy, 


GRANDMAS    STOHIES. 

who  did  not  make  any  endeavor  to  pursue 
the  fugitives.  Father  used  to  say  hi*  gun 
was  the  last  fired  by  the  Americans. 

"So  anxious  were  the  victorious  Redcoats 
to  enter  the  city,  that  they  took  no  notice 
of  their  wounded  and  dead  on  the  battle- 
field. Ross  entered  Washington  about 
eight  in  the  evening.  He  and  his 
vandals  spent  the  entire  night  in  burning 
and  destroying  everything  they  could  lay 
their  hands  on.  Grandma  said  the  flames 
of  the  burning  offices  and  buildings  were 
distinctly  seen  at  her  residence,  fully 
forty-five  miles  below  Washington. 

'•After  the  battle,  father  was  appointed 
to  visit  the  grounds  and  examine  the  dead 
and  wounded.  The  loss  of  the  Americans 
was  about  eighty  ;  that  of  the  enemy  about 
two  hundred  and  forty-nine.  Among  the 
dead  was  a  handsome  young  English 
officer.  In  his  pocket  was  found  a  Catholic 
prayer  lx>ok,  bound  in  red  and  gold,  and 


100  GRANDMA'S  STOIUES. 

within  its  leaves,  a  letter  to  his  wife  in 
England.  He  told  her  his  commission 
would  expire  in  three  weeks  and  lie  would 
turn  homeward,  hoping  to  be  with  her 
and  his  dear  little  ones  in  a  few  months,  or 
just  as  soon  as  he  could  be  taken  across  the 
ocean.  There  were  marks  of  tears  on  his 
letter,  and  poor  father  could  never  speak 
of  that  circumstance  without  expressing 
sympathetic  regret.  Our  men  buried  the 
enemy's  -  dead  with  their  own.  Ross  left 
Washington  on  the  evening  of  August  2f>, 
and  reached  his  gunboats  in  the  Patuxent 
River  on  the  27th.' 

"His  next  appearance  was  before  Balti- 
more, September  12th.  On  his  march 
toward  the  attack,  it  is  said  he  remarked 
he  would  sup  in  Baltimore  or  in  the  lower 
regions. 

"He  did  not  sup  in  Baltimore,  as  he  was 
killed  by  a  discharge  ,of  cannon  about 
3  p.  m.  Some  say  Ross  was  fired  "at  from 


CUANDMA'S  STOKIKS.  101 

a  tree,  by  two  daring  bo}?s  of  Baltimore, 
who  were  instantly  shattered  into  atoms 
by  the  Redcoats. 

"It  was  on  the  occasion  of^the  battle  of 
Baltimore,  that  the  far  famed  "Star 
Spangle*!  Banner"1  was  written  by  the 
patriotic  Francis  S.  Key,  of  Maryland. 

"But,  my  dear  children,"  resumed 
grandma,  "we  in  lower  Maryland  were  not 
the  only  sufferers.  The  inhabitants  of  the 
little  town  of  Havre  do  Grace,  at  the 
head  of  the  Chesapeake,  endured  indigni- 
ties and  injury  almost  exceeding  ours. 

"The  ships  being  so  near,  the  enemy 
could  well  load  them  with  their  booty  ; 
they  ransacked  every  house  and  burnt 
to  the  ground  some  of  the  handsomest 
dwellings. 

''General  Parker  had  command  of  that 
division  of  the  English  troops,  or  vandals 
as  they  may  be  truly  called.  O,  my 
children,  war  is  a  terrible  scourge.  And 


102  <;I:ANDMA'S  STOUIKS. 

may  none  of  you  ever  have  experience  of 
it. 

"After  the  defeat  at  Fort  MeHenry  or 
Baltimore,  the  enemy  sailed  around  to  New 
Orleans,  where  they  were  met  by  a  siipr- 
rior  force  under  the  intrepid  General 
Andrew  Jackson.  A  terrible  battle  ensued 
and  the  British  were  driven  back  with 
great  loss.  Almost  at  the  beginning  of 
the  fight,  their  leader,  General  Packenham, 
fell  mortally  wounded.  That,  of  course, 
spread  terror  among  his  followers.  I  think 
they  must  have  been  glad  to  sail  out  of 
the  Crescent  City,  though  every  hope  of 
conquering  the  Americans  was  lost.  The 
eighth  of  January  will  ever  be  a  memorable 
anniversary  for  the  inhabitants  of  Ne\v 
( >rleans. 

"Some  Aveeks  after,  news  was  received 
of  a  definite  Treaty  of  Peace  having  been 
signed  at  Ghent  by  the  American  and 
English  commissioners,  and  yon  may  be 


»;KAND.MA"S  STOIIIKS.  103 

sure  there  was  great  exultation  and  rejoic- 
ing throughout  our  immense  country; 
everyone  felt  safe  once  more." 

"Grandma,''  asked  Kdward,  "what  be- 
came of  Lord  Cornwallis  after  he  sur- 
rendered to  General  Washington?  Did  he 
ever  return  to  England  ?" 

"  Why,  yes,  my  dear,"  responded 
grandma,  "he  went  back  and  continued  to 
render  service  to  his  country  for  many 
years.  The  last  notable  thing  I  remember 
having  heard  of  him  was,  that  he  was 
commissioned  to  see  Napoleon  safely  land- 
ed on  the  Island  of  St.  Helena,  and  you  may 
be  sure  he  did  that  duty  to  perfection,  and 
saw  that  the  poor  general  would  never 
have  it  in  his  power  to  move  a  budge  from 
the  spot  marked  out  for  his  last  resting 
place.  Poor  Napoleon!" 

"Was  he  a  good  man,  grandma?"  en- 
quired Charlie. 

"  Yes,    Charlie,    he  was  good  in    some 


104  <;I:AM»MA'S  STORIES. 

respects,  and  very  bad  in  others.  He 
was  raised  up  by  Almighty  (rod  for  a 
great  work  and  he  accomplished  it ;  had  he 
l>een  content  to  remain  as  he  was,  lie 
might  have  become  one  of  the  greatest 
men  the  world  ever  beheld,  but  Napoleon 
was  elated  by  his  success  and  became  a 
proud,  ambitious  man,  desiring  to  conquer 
the  world,  so  it  was  well  for  his  career  to 
be  checked  before  too  much  mischief  was 
done  by  him.  We  all  have  good  and 
bad  qualities,  Charlie,  and  it  is  necessary 
for  us  to  be  watchful  and  put  to  profit  our 
knowledge  of  them,  ever  endeavoring  to 
root  out  the  bad  and  to  improve  the  good, 
that  we  may  attain  the  end  God  had  in 
view  in  creating  us.  Another  time  1  may 
tell  you  more  of  some  of  the  noted  men 
whose  names  you  will  see  in  history  and 
other  good  books.  Xow,  I  think,  it  must 
be  time  for  us  to  stop.  My  watch  says  it 
is  near  seven,  the  hour  for  tea." 


OUR  ANCESTRAL  HOMES. 


BUSHWOOD, 

ST.  MARY'S  COUNTY,  MAKYLANH 


THE  nineteenth  century  is  drawing  to 
a  close  and  with  its  departed  sisters 
will  soon  be  numbered  with  "The  Ages  of  the 
Past."  From  the  first  pages  of  its  Annals 
to  the  last,  we  can  trace  the  workings  of 
an  all-wise  l»uler  and  His  watchful  Provi- 
dence over  our  beloved  country,  thus 
proving  it  to  l>e  the  land  of  His  adoption 
and  of  His  love. 

Comparing  the  close  of  the  century  with 
its  commencement  in  America,  we  are  lost 
in  wonder  at  the  complete  transformation 
af  all  things  around  us  and  read  with 


106  «;KAXI»MA'S  STMKIKS. 

laudable  pride,  the  events  recorded  by 
histoiy,  with  the  rise  and  progress  of  the 
nation.  History,  however,  has  made  no 
mention  of  the  lordly  mansions  of  our 
ante-Revolution  or  Colonial  days,  some 
few  of  which  still  exist  and  are  pointed 
out  as  precious  landmarks  or  links  connect- 
ing the  present  with  the  past  and  future. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  after  the 
settlement  of  the  Colonies,  not  a  few  of 
the  English  nobility  emigrated  to  our 
shores,  bringing  immense  wealth,  by  which 
they  were  enabled  to  maintain  or  keep  up 
the  style  and  customs  of  the  mother-coun- 
try. Lavish  were  they  in  making  their 
homes  and  surroundings  correspond  with 
their  aristocratic  ideas.  Even  after  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  the  des- 
cendants of  the  high-born  lords,  vaunted 
their  pedigree,  displayed  their  coat  of-arms, 
emblazoned  their  coaches  with  heraldic 
escutcheons  and  vied  with  each  other  in 


<;KAM>.MA'S  STOKIKS.  107 

showing  the  new  world  some  of  the  pomp 
and  pageantry  of  the  old. 

But,  it  is  of  their  mansions  we  wish  to 
give  the  rising  generations  an  idea. 

AVhere  shall  we  find  them?  They  are 
dotted  all  along  the  heights  of  the  historic 
Potomac,  on  the  elevated  ridges  of  the 
Wicomico  and  Patuxent  rivers  and  on  the 
lowlands,  whose  shores  are  laved  by  the 
bays  and  inlets  that  so  beautifully  indent 
the  coast  of  southern  Maryland.  In  forest 
districts  also,  and  in  the  inland  sections, 
we  may  now  and  then  meet  an  old 
homestead,  whose  historic  legends  and 
traditions  have  never  been  caught  up  by 
pen  or  pencil,  and  which  no  doubt,  would 
throw  a  vivid  light  upon  the  days  of  yore. 
It  seems  to  be  desirable  that  some  energetic 
historian  or  antiquarian,  (one  with  mind 
unprejudiced  against  sect  or  section,  creed 
or  nation,)  would  come  among  the  old 
ruins  of  our  lower  counties  and  gather  the 


108  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

historic  points  that  have  rested  in  oblivion 
for  centuries ;  such  a  gleaner  might  find 
the  wherewith  to  add  to  his  already  well 
iilled  volumes,  pages  that  would  be  read 
with  interest  in  every  State  and  Territory 
of  our  Union,  or  wherever  a  Maiylander 
may  be  found,  and  such  seem  to  be  scatter- 
ed broadcast  throughout  the  land. 

While  awaiting  that  abler  pen,  \ve 
venture  to  give  a  brief  sketch  of  a  few  of 
the  old  places  of  Colonial  note,  and  shall 
begin  with  the  one  most  famous  in  the 
history  of  our  State,  viz  :  '•  BUSHWOOD," 
the  home  for  genemtions  of  the  Anglo- 
American  Plowdens. 

Kushwood  is  beautifully  situated  on  an 
eminence  that  slopes  to  the  water's  edge 
of  the  Wicomico,  quite  near  its  confluence 
with  the  Potomac.  The  mansion  is 
strongly  built  in  the  old  ancestral  style  of 
England  and  of  material  imported  from  the 
mother-land.  The  prospect  from  the  resi- 


<;I:AXI»IA"S  STORIES.  109 

dence  and  heights  can  scarcely  be  surpassed. 
For  miles  the  Potomac  may  be  seen  wind- 
ing its  way  northward  toward  our  grand 
Metropolis,  Washington,  at  which  point  it 
takes  its  course  to  the  mountains  of  the 
northwest,  where  its  tiny  source  may  be 
found. 

Though  the  river  is  about  eleven  miles 
in  width  at  its  junction  with  the  Wicomico, 
the  shores  and  hills  of  Virginia  are  dis 
tinctively  visible  from  Bush  wood.  With 
a  strong  spy  glass,  or  telescope,  the  farmer 
may  be  seen  tilling  the  soil  and  the  cattle 
browsing  on  the  green  sward  above  the 
river. 

Directly  opposite  Bush  wood  is  the 
historic  "Cobb  Neck"  in  Charles  Co. ;  so 
low  is  its  situation  between  the  two  rivers, 
that  a  beholder  from  the  heights  is  seized 
with  a  fear  of  its  sinking  below  the 
waters.  After  a  dead  level  of  about  six 
or  seven  miles,  the  surface .  of  Cobb 


110  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

Neck  begins  a  gradual  ascent  to  the 
highland  above,  where  the  elevations  o 
the  Potomac  on  the  left  and  those 
of  the  Wicomico  on  the  right,  verge 
into  a  dense  woodland,  usually  called 
•'Picawaxen  Forest." 

A  drive  through  that  forest  in  spring  or 
summer  is  most  delightful:  the  level  road 
wends  for  miles  in  a  perfect  shade,  then 
cuts  through  a  pine  forest,  leaving  on  either 
side  a  mass  of  brush  and  underwood  so 
dense  as  to  be  impenetrable  to  the  rays  of 
a  noonday  sun.  The  monotony  of  the 
drive  is  tempered  by  a  view,  now  and 
then,  of  a  handsome  residence,  with  its 
fields  of  growing  grain,  tobacco  and  the 
like.  Occasionally,  a  cleared  spot  gives 
the  traveller  a  glimpse  of  the  Potomac 
and  the  far  away  Blue  Mountains  of 
Virginia.  Birds  of  every  sort  and  species 
flit  by  and  'overhead,  heedless  of  the 
stranger  and  fearless  of  molestation. 


QRANDHA'S  STOKLKS.  Ill 

Of  that  beautiful  forest,  one  at  Bush- 
wood  has  a  clear  view.  In  the  autumnal 
months,  when  the  foliage  presents  every 
variety  of  color  and  shade,  we  might  ask 
if  such  a  spot  is  not  something  beyond  the 
ordinary  creation  of  nature.  We  can 
never  tire  viewing  the  works  of  God  from 
the  heights  of  Bushwood. 

The  earliest  mention  of  this  old  resi- 
dence, we  find  in  the  history  of  Bancroft, 
where  it  is  written:  "The  first  represent- 
ative assembly  emanating  from  the  people 
was  held  at  Bushwood."  It  is  also  said 
by  the  same  author,  "that  a  resolve  as  to 
the  ancient  coinage  of  Maryland  was  made 
there  by  the  burgesses  about  the  year 
1654." 

The  next  mention  of  Bushwood  is 
met  in  the  will  of  Gerard  Slye,  made  in 
the  year  1753,  in  which  he  bequeaths  the 
half  of  Bushwood  to  his  son,  George 
Slye,  and  the  other  half  to  his  wife,  Mary 


112  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

Slye,  during  her  natural  life,  with  the 
condition  of  its  going  to  George  Slye  at 
the  death  of  the  widow. 

Again,  in  the  will  of  George  Slye,  made 
in  1773,  Bushwood  is  bequeathed  to  his 
nephew,  Edmund  Plowden,  in  case  his 
widow.  Clara  Slye,  dies  without  heirs;  her 
only  child,  Mollie  Slye,  died  when  seven 
years  of  age  and,  of  course,  the  Bushwood 
estate  accrued  to  said  Edmund  Plowden 
and  his  heirs. 

In  the  same  will  of  George  Slye,  his 
wife,  Clara,  was  bequeathed  two  acre?  of 
land  on  which  stood  a  chapel,  near  the 
residence,  Bushwood.  The  chapel  has 
since  risen  to  the  large  and  handsome 
Church  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  which  is  at- 
tended by  the  Jesuit  Fathers  of  Leonard- 
town.  In  the  cemetery  attached  to  the 
church,  may  be  found  handsome  tombs  and 
flagstones,  bearing  the  names  of -the  Plow- 
den and  4)ther  families,  for  generations. 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  113 

Said  George  Slye  and  his  sister  Hen- 
rietta, who  married  Edmund  Plowden,  the 
father  of  the  first  owner  of  Bush  wood, 
were  the  only  surviving  children  of  Gerard 
Slye,  Esq.,  a  man  of  note  and  power  under 
the  British  Government.  His  estate  in 
Maryland  becoming  somewhat  involved, 
he  made  a  voyage  to  England,  either  to 
recover  property  or  to  attend  a  lawsuit. 
As  soon  as  he  left  America,  his  wife, 
Mary  Slye,  began  to  curtail  expenses,  and 
in  seven  years,  the  length  of  his  stay 
abroad,  the  estate  was  cleared  of  difficulty 
and  she  hastened  to  join  him  in  England. 
He  returned  with  her  and  soon  after  be- 
came a  Catholic.  Their  two  children, 
George  and  Henrietta,  were  left  to  the 
training  of  the  mother,  yet,  on  account  of 
the  father  being  a  Protestant  and  the  laws 
against  Roman  Catholics  so  rigid,  she  was 
compelled  to  send  them  every  Sunday  to 
the  Protestant  Church;  the  children  would 


114  GRANDMA'S  STCRIES 

enter  the  church,  make  a  noise  to  attract 
the  attention  of  the  Congregation,  then 
run  to  the  servants  in  waiting  outside, 
and  be  driven  to  the  Catholic  Church, 
where  their  mother  was  worshipping. 
The  Slyes  lived  very  handsomely;  their 
equipage  was  among  the  best  in  the  coun- 
try. The  old  English  style  of  livery  was 
a  buckskin  suit  with  brass  buttons,  a  black 
hat  with  gilt  band,  and  high  black  boots. 
A  curious  fact  relative  to  the  daughter, 
Henrietta,  deserves  mention.  She  was  a 
young  lady  of  great  beauty  and  among 
her  suitors  was  a  nobleman  of  English 
birth.  One  night  she  dreamed  she  saw 
the  English  lover,  with  another  young 
man  attired  in  black,  appear  before  the 
judgment-seat  of  God.  The  Englishman 
was  rejected,  and  the  gentleman  in  mourn- 
ing accepted.  The  dream  made  such  an 
impression  on  the  mind  of  Miss  Henrietta, 
that  she  discarded  the  English  lover. 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  115 

Soon  after,  she  met  Edmund  Plowden,  in 
whom  she  recognized  the  stranger  of  the 
dream.  He  proposed  and  was  accepted. 

Edmund  Plowden,  the  husband  of  Hen- 
rietta Slye,  was  the  lineal  descendant 
of  Sir  Edmund  Plowden,  Earl  of  New 
Albion.  Sir  Edmund  Plowden  received, 
in  1634,  a  Charter  from  Charles  I.  of  Eng- 
land, the  commencement  of  which  runs 
thus:  "To  Sir  Edmund  Plowden,  Earl, 
Knight,  Lord  Palatine,  Proprietary  and 
Governor  of  New  Albion,  etc."  In  an- 
other part  of  the  said  Charter,  Sir  Edmund 
is  granted,  "four  hundred  miles  of  land, 
lying  on  the  Bay  of  Delaware,  between 
Virginia  and  the  New  England  States." 

We  learn  from  the  old  records  in  St. 
Mary's  county,  that  a  tract  of  land,  con- 
sisting of  4,000  acres,  was  surveyed  March 
24th,  1650,  and  the  possessor,  George 
Plowden.  The  tract  was  called  "Resur- 
rection Manor." 


116  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

Again,  a  place  called  "The  Tavern," 
consisting  of  200  acres,  was  surveyed 
March  20th,  1670,  George  Plowden,  pos- 
sessor. 

"  Plovvden's  Discovery,  "  granted  to 
Edmund  Plowden,  1746,  was  devised  by 
his  will,  dated  1757,  to  his  son,  Francis 
Gerard  Plowden. 

From  the  many  investigations  into  the 
genealogy  of  the  Plowdens,  no  possible 
doubt  can  exist  of  the  lineal  descent  of 
the  American  Plowdens  from  the  old  Sir 
Edmund,  Earl,  Knight,  Lord  Palatine  and 
Governor  of  the  Province  of  New  Albion, 
according  to  the  Charter  of  1634;  nor  can 
it  be  denied  that  the  rights,  privileges,  and 
titles  by  which  Sir  Edmund  was  honored, 
belonged  to  his  descendants  in  America, 
and  had  investigation  been  made  by  them 
at  an  earlier  date  than  what  we  have,  every 
difficulty  might  have  been  removed. 

The   late  Most  Rev.  James   Whitfield, 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  117 

the  fourth  Archbishop  of  Baltimore,  assured 
some  members  of  the  Plowden  family  in 
America,  that  he  was  raised  and  educated 
in  England,  in  the  same  neighborhood  as 
the  Plowden s,  and  was  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  the  family.  He  saw  a 
striking  resemblance  in  the  American 
Plowdens  to  those  in  England. 

A  few  years  since,  some  of  the  descen- 
dants of  the  Plowden  family  journeyed 
to  England  to  obtain  important  facts 
relative  to  their  English  ancestry.  They 
visited  Temple  Church,  London,"  to  view 
the  tomb  where  the  remains  of  Sir 
Edmund  Plowden,  Jurist,  (grandfather  of 
Sir  Edmund  of  Albion,)  are  entombed  in 
a  handsome  sarcophagus,  surmounted  by  a 
life-size  figure  in  effigy,  of  the  noble  dead 
resting  beneath. 

The  Plowdens  were  connected  by  mar- 
riage and  relationship  to  the  leading 
families  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  viz: 


118  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

the  Brents,  Neales,  Fen  wicks,  Carrolls,etc., 
and  history  can  tell  the  services  rendered 
to  State  and  Church  by  their  worthy 
descendants. 

We  read  that  after  the  disturbances  of 
Clayborne,  1635,  Protestantism  attained 
its  ascendancy  in  Maryland,  and  that  not- 
Avithstanding  the  "  Repeal  Act,  "  passed  in 
1649,  the  Legislature  of  Maryland,  five 
years  later,  declared  the  Catholics  "not 
entitled  to  the  protection  of  the  laws  of  the 
State." 

The  indignities  and  insults  to  which  they 
were  subjected,  we  have  learned  from  the 
traditions  handed  down  by  our  Catholic 
ancestors,  as  well  as  from  those  who  were 
opposed  to  our  religion.  In  1661,  rights 
being  restored  to  Lord  Baltimore,  the 
Catholics,  for  about  thirty  years,  enjoyed 
comparative  peace,  or  until  the  fall  of  the 
Stuart  dynasty,  1688. 

William  of  Orange  found  the  English 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  119 

people  but  too  ready  and  willing  to  re-open 
the  blood-stained  paths  that  had  been 
traced  in  the  time  of  the  lawless  Henry 
and  his  winsome,  wily  daughter  Elizabeth; 
consequently,  the  spirit  of  animosity  was 
again  stirred  against  the  Catholics  of 
Maryland  and  they  endured  persecution 
and  trials  untold,  until  the  Declaration  of 
Independence. 

Sir  George  Slye  not  being  a  Catholic 
at  the  time  accounts  for  his  residence  being 
a  rendezvous  for  the  government  officials 
of  Maryland.  Annapolis  was  selected  for 
the  capital  of  the  State  only  in  1699. 

Edmund  Plowden,  great  grandson  of 
the  Earl  of  Albion,  married  Jennette 
Hammersley  of  St.  Mary's  Co.,  Decem- 
ber 5th,  1779,  and  from  them  our  States 
and  Counties  have  had  some  of  their 
most  distinguished  statesmen  and  citizens 
of  every  profession,  and  too  much  cannot 
be  said  of  their  noble  efforts  to  sustain  the 


120  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

rights  and  privileges  of  their  countrymen, 
irrespective  of  creed  or  worship.  To  them, 
especially,  is  the  Catholic  Church  in 
America  greatly  indebted  for  their  stead- 
fast faith  during  the  turbulent  days  of 
prejudiced  ascendency,  for,  certainly,  it 
was  not  a  little  encouragement  to  the  more 
lowly  to  behold  strict  adherence  to  "Roman 
Catholicity,"  among  the  wealthy  and  in- 
fluential portion  of  the  struggling  Church. 

Rev.  Charles  Plowden,  a  relative  of  the 
owners  of  Bushwood,  was  among  the  early 
missionaries  of  lower  Maryland,  and  much 
has  been  told  of  his  noble  zeal  and  gener- 
osity. He  bestowed  his  large  fortune  upon 
the  missions  and  lived  in  bare  sufficiency 
during  his  laborious  career,  far  from  the 
comforts  of  family  and  home.  He  returned 
to  Europe  when  his  days  were  drawing  to 
a  close  and  died  in  France. 

Sir  Edmund  Plowden,  consort  of 
Jennette  Hamersley,  was  registered  as  a 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  121 

member  of  the  Maryland  Legislature  in 
1791,  and  was  still  there  in  1798,  six  years 
previous  to  his  demise,  April  20, 1804,  his 
wife  having  preceded  him  to  the  tomb  by 
only  a  few  months. 

The  venerable  Mrs.  Austin  Jenkins,  now 
residing  in  Wilmington,  Delaware,  is  the 
only  surviving  member  of  their  third 
generation.  Though  a  little  over  the  four- 
score of  years,  her  intellect  is  unimpaired 
and  her  memory  clear  and  retentive.  Her 
children  may  well  rise  up  and  call  her 
blessed. 

Edmund  Plowden,  of  William,  the  last 
of  his  race  to  possess  Bushwood,  died  in 
1864.  After  his  demise  the  beautiful 
homestead  passed  into  the  hands  of 
strangers,  who  are  most  courteous  in  point- 
ing out  to  tourists  and  visitors  every  spot 
of  interest  in  the  mansion  and  its  surround- 
ings. The  old  Council  Hall  is  still  to  be 
seen  and  one  can  but  exclaim  on  entering 


122  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

it:  "Would  that  walls  could  speak." 
As  nations  pass  away  with  time  and 
dynasties  change,  so  do  we  find  that  of  the 
old  influential  families  of  our  Colonial  days, 
there  is  scarcely  a  member  to  perpetuate 
the  memory  of,  or  to  carry  to  coming 
generations  the  name  of  his  noble  ancestors. 
Truly,  a  lesson  to  teach  us  the  vanity  and 
nothingness  of  all  here  below,  save  what 
has  reference  to  the  kingdom  of  Heaven. 

But  Bushwood  cannot  die  ;  it  must 
live  in  the  heart  of  the  patriot  and  be 
cherished  for  its  connection  with  the 
history  of  the  early  struggle  of  our  nation 
for  the  liberty  it  now  boasts  of.  In  the 
near  future  there  may  be  found  someone 
to  investigate,  more  closely,  the  right  it  has 
to  a  prominent  place  in  the  general  history 
of  our  great  Republic. 

Of  those  that  clustered  around  the 
festive  board  of  Bushwood,  (whose  very 
name  is  synonomous  with  hospitality),  but 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  123 

few  remain  and  they  are  scattered  far  and 
near.  In  the  days  when  the  land  was  filled 
with  peace  and  plenty,  Bushwood  was  the 
centre  of  attraction.  'Twas  there  that  the 
lord  and  lady  met  to  trip  the  light  fan- 
tastic toe  ;  to  feast  on  the  luxuries  of  the 
deep,  taken  by  themselves  in  their  fishing- 
parties,  turtle-hunts,  etc.  'Twas  there 
that  the  needy  sought  and  obtained  assist- 
ance, that  the  Catholic  missionary  found 
rest  and  quiet  after  his  arduous  duties  and 
fatiguing  rides,  for  then  the  Catholic 
missions  were  few  and  far  between.  'Twas 
there  the  neighbor  sought  consolation  and 
solace  in  his  hour  of  trial,  the  wayfarer 
a  refuge  from  the  tempest  and  the  be- 
nighted traveller,  a  home  in  a  strange 
land. 

We  will  glance  once  more  at  the  hal- 
lowed walls,  the  deeply  recessed  windows, 
the  corridors  and  spacious  halls,  and  all 
that  bespeak  the  ancient  glory  of  the 


124  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

historic  Bush  wood,  'then  hang  upon  its 
time-honored  portals  the  following  tribute 
of  affection  and  due  appreciation  of  what 
it  was  in  the  days  of  yore  and  what  it  will 
ever  be  in  history. 

The  *liarp  that  once  thro'  Bushwood's  hall* 

The  soul  of  music  shed, 
Is  hush'd  and  still  within  its  walls 

As  Bushwood's  noble  dead. 

No  more  will  chevalier  and  knight 

In  tilting  make  their  mark, 
Nor  sportsman  hunt  the  fallow  deer 

In  Bushwood's  lordly  park. 

The  glory  of  its  day  is  gone, 

And  peace  be  to  its  Shade, 
'Round  which  the  laurels  Hist'ry  twined 

Will  never  wilt  or  fade. 


*The  last  harpist  of  Bush  wood  was  Henrietta 
Plowden,  daughter  of  William. 


BLENHEIM  OF  COLONIAL  DAYS 


IN  lower  Maryland,  on  the  heights  of  the 
beautiful  Potomac,  and  not  very  dis- 
tant from  its  junction  with  the  waters  of 
the  Chesapeake,  the  old  Blenheim  mansion 
peered  above  the  surrounding  residences 
of  the  picturesque  vicinity.  It  was  built 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, and  was  famed  for  the  strength  and 
solidity  of  its  structure.  Its  owner  was 
Squire  Lee,  a  descendant  of  one  of  the 
Lees  who  emigrated  from  England  soon 
after  the  settlement  of  Maryland  by  the 
Cal verts.  Not  only  the  mansion  but  all 
the  out-houses,  stables  and  pigeon-house, 
were,  built  of  brick  imported  from  England 
for  the  purpose.  Modern  builders  have  as- 
serted that  those  bricks  were  made  of 
quite  a  different  material  or  earth  from 


126  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

what  has  ever  been  found  in  our  section  of 
North  America.  The  English  brick  is 
thoroughly  red  and  hard  to  break. 

The  old  mansion  was  a  square  building, 
two  stories  high,  with  an  attic.  The  roof, 
for  more  than  half  its  length  and  breadth, 
was  arranged  for  a  fish-pond,  and  it  was 
said  that  the  old  Squire  actually  supplied 
his  table  with  trout  caught  by  himself  in 
that  overhead  fishery;  no  one  else  was 
ever  allowed  to  fish  there. 

The  windows  of  the  mansion  were  most 
curiously  constructed,  and  consisted  of 
many  panes  of  stained  glass,  all  very  small 
and  of  different  sizes,  shapes  and  colors. 
When  the  evening  sun  reflected  its  rays 
upon  them,  the  effect  within  was  enchant- 
ing, and  dazzling  without.  The  heavy 
damask  curtains  added  not  a  little  to  the 
boauty  of  the  scene,  especially  about  sun- 
set. 

All  around  the  roof  was  an  iron  railing, 


GEANDMA'S  STOKIE*.  127 

to  prevent  accident  to  those  who  loved  to 
ascend  for  the  magnificent  view  there  pre- 
sented. For  miles,  or  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach,  the  most  beautiful  of  American 
forests,  the  green,  hills  and  plains  of  Vir- 
ginia, and,  on  a  clear  day,  the  far  off  Blue 
Ridge  Mountains,  formed  a  panorama  that 
the  eye  rested  upon  with  delight. 

When  the  old  Squire  desired  to  be  the 
perfect  Englishman,  he  invited  his  visitors 
and  guests  to  a  view  of  the  surrounding 
country,  through  his  "first  class  spy-glass," 
as  he  termed  it.  At  the  south  end  of  the 
roof,  a  small  tower  was  erected  to  protect 
the  instrument,  which  was  kept  mounted, 
except  in  bad  weather,  then  there  would 
be  quite  a  ceremony  of  calling  in  two  or 
three  stalwart  darkeys  to  aid  in  lowering  a 
movable  covering  for  the  "  dear  telescope." 
Viewed  through  the  instrument,  the  sceqe 
at  night  was  one  of  grandeur,  especially  in 
the  autumnal  months,  when  Orion,  Taurus, 


128  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

and  the  sister  constellations  appear  in  their 
glory.  It  was  the  Squire's  greatest  pleas, 
ure  to  watch  and  note  the  rising,  the  cul- 
mination and  the  setting  of  the  stars,  and 
when  the  nights  were  cloudy,  lie  was  sure 
to  be  in  a  disagreeable  mood. 

He  delighted  also  in  fox-hunting,  and 
his  hounds  were  generally  pronounced  the 
best  in  the  country.  When  he  heard  them 
praised  his  usual  comment  was :  "English 
blood  in  them."  Many  a  brush  did  he 
send  to  his  friends  "at  home,"  as  England 
was  often  called  in  those  days. 

He  kept  a  set  of  handsome  barges  for 
crossing  the  Potomac,  to  visit  his  clan  in 
Virginia.  Occasionally  he  gave  magnifi- 
cent entertainments,  all  on  the  English 
plan  and  in  the  English  style.  We  never 
heard  of  the  old  Squire  having  any  sons; 
we  only  know  of  two  daughters,  one  of 
whom  survived  him.  If  noblemen  could 
have  been  hooked  as  easily  as  the  trout  in 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  129 

the    father's  skyey  pond,  they  might  not 
have  died  wailing  their  single  blessedness. 

The  Squire  was  on  intimate  terms  with 
General  Washington,  and  they  frequently 
exchanged  visits.  After  the  first  inaugu- 
ration, he  tendered  a  grand  banquet  to  the 
President.  Ladies  and  gentlemen,  from  far 
and  near,  attended  in  full  colonial  costume 
and  it  was  said  that  the  head-dress  of  the 
hostess  towered  fully  a  foot  above  her  pow- 
dered hair.  The  best  band  of  music  that 
New  York  could  boast  of,  was  hired  for  the 
occasion  at  an  enormous  expense.  The 
dance  was  kept  up  from  nine  in  the  even- 
ing to  near  dawn. 

Washington  and  many  other  Virginians 
attended  the  funereal  rites  of  the  old  Squire. 
The  service  was  performed  by  the  then  lead- 
ing minister  of  the  Church  of  England,  the 
old  Domino  Campbell.  His  eulogy  was 
long  and  gratifying  to  the  family  and 
friends. 


130  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

It  was  the  custom  of  all  the  old  English 
settlers  to  have  their  burial-ground  quite 
near  to,  and  within  sight  of  the  family  resi- 
dence. Every  individual  grave  was  sur- 
rounded by  a  brick  wall  about  three  or  four 
feet  in  height  and  covered  with  a  massive 
flagstone  of  the  best  marble,  on  which  were 
engraved  the  name  of  the  deceased,  his  age, 
date  of  emigration  and  demise.  All  the 
slabs  were  imported  from  Europe,  and 
sometimes  it  was  years  before  the  last  rest- 
ing place  of  a  dear  one  was  completed. 

The  last  survivor  of  the  old  Squire,  El- 
iza Lee,  died  soon  after  the  close  of  the 
Revolutionary  War,  or  about  1792.  Be- 
fore breathing  her  last,  she  confided  to  a 
very  special  friend  the  secret  of  having  in 
her  possession  a  bag  of  gold  coin,  which  she 
requested  should  be  placed  Hinder  her 
head  in  the  coffin,  and  buried  with  her. 
The  promise  seems  to  have  been  made,  but 
how  kept  we  do  not  know.  It  is  certain 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  131 

that  a  bag  of  something  went  with  her  re- 
mains to  the  brick-walled  sepulchre  and 
was  safely  deposited  beneath  the  powdered 
hair  and  fine  ornaments  that — decorated 
Miss  Eliza's  seat  of  knowledge — her  royal 
head. 

Such  a  wonderful  secret  was  hard  to 
keep  and  we  are  not  surprised  to  hear  it 
was  the  talk  of  the  neighboring  counties 
within  three  days  after  the  royal  decease. 
As  the  sepulchre  had  not  yet  been  hermeti- 
cally sealed,  and  the  expensive  flagstone  not 
at  hand,  two  darkeys  ventured  in  search  of 
the  gold  on  the  second  night  after  burial. 
A  little  after  twelve  they  started  and 
advanced  toward  the  grave  with  cautious 
steps  ;  the  small  lantern  they  carried  gave 
very  poor  light  and  they  were  careful  to 
keep  the  dark  side  turned  toward  the 
mansion.  They  quietly  removed  the 
temporary  stone,  lifted  the  royal  remains 
and  drew  forth  the  coveted  prize,  then 


132  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

gently  laid  the  dame  to  rest  again,  and 
replaced  the  stone. 

"Aren't  we  the  lucky  fellows,"  said  Jim 
to  Josh,  "to  be  gittin'  dat  ole  squire's 
fortune  and  de  ole  witch's  cash.  Hurrah!" 

"Jump  up  here,"  said  Josh,  "  and  let  us 
frustricate  it,"  and  they  mounted  a  tomb- 
stone. 

Josh,  giving  the  bag  a  shake,  said  : 

"Dare  no  jingle  in  dis  bag,  Jim." 

"O,"  replied  Jim,  "dat's  bekase  its 
Inglish  gool,  and  dat  don't  jingle  you 
know  ;  let's  be  at  it." 

The  bag  was  sewn  together  with  very 
strong  thread,  that  rendered  it  more  diffi- 
cult to  open  than  was  the  grave  or  coffin. 

"Well,  come  ;  you  pull  one  ob  de  strings, 
Jim,  and  I'll  pull  de  oder,"  said  Josh, 
"and  see  who  gits  it  ajar  de  fust." 

"Stop,  Josh,"  said  Jim.  "What's  you 
gwine  to  do  wid  de  money  when  you  gits 
it?" 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  133 

"I'll  hide  it  fust,  and  arter  dat  I'm 
gwine  to  buy  a  boss  and  cart  for  Judy  and 
de  chillun  to  ride  in  of  a  Saunday,"  ans- 
wered Josh,  "and  what's  you  gwine  to  do 
wid  yourn?" 

"O,  I'se  a  gwine  to  git  a  plantation  to 
raise  taters  on  and  not  be  beholding  to  de 
white  folks  any  longer.  Ain't  dat  a  gittin 
np  in  de  world?" 

"Come,  let's  begin  de  opperation  arid  be 
done  with  it  ;  you  pull  one  end  ob  de 
string,  Jim,  and  I  pulls  de  oder.  Here 
goes  it,  we'll  open  together  Jim,  pull 
away. " 

The  bag  flew  open  and  lo!  Instead  of 
gold,  hickory  nuts  and  black  walnuts 
tumbled  out  on  the  tombstone. 

"Whew,  whew!  ain't  dis  a  spilt  job, 
Josh?"  said  Jim. 

Their  white  eyeballs  might  have  been 
seen  at  quite  a  distance  ;  they  looked  on 
with  wide  opened  jaws  and  knew  not  what 


134  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

to  think  or  say ;  their  hopes  were  dashed 
to  the  ground,  Josh  scratched  his  head  and 
after  considering  a  while,  both  roared  out 
in  a  loud  laugh. 

"Well,"  said  Jim,  "let's  make  de  best  of 
de  bargin  and  eat  the  nuts." 

In  those  days  the  darkies  were  very  apt 
in  impromptu  songs  and  had  great  facility 
inputting  thei/ words  to  music.  By  the 
following  week  a  very  lively  song  was 
going  the  rounds  in  the  neighborhood,  and 
soon  became  very  popular.  It  ran  thus: 

Miss  Liza  Lee,  Miss  Liza  Lee,  your  gold  is  turned 

to  nuts, 
We'll  crack  and  eat;  den  fling  the  bulls  into  de 

ole  cart  ruts 
Miss  Liza  Lee,  Miss  Liza  Lee,  we  wonder  where's 

you  now ; 
We  guess  if  you'd  come  top  agin  you'd  raise  a 

dandy  row. 
Miss  Liza  Lee,  you'd  better  stay  jist  down  dar 

wbar  you  is, 
Kase  be  dat's  got  your  bag  of  gold  will  always 

sware  it's  his. 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES,  135 

The  darkeys  cracked  nuts  and  ate  until 
near  day-break.  For  a  few  days  they  kept 
very  quiet,  fearing  the  white  folks  would 
get  wind  of  the  robbery  and  have  them 
arraigned  before  the  court  of  justice.  How- 
ever, the  rumor  got  afloat  that  Miss  Lee  was 
up  every  night  about  twelve,  sitting  on  her 
tombstone  cracking  nuts,  and  so  strong 
was  the  belief  that  for  years  no  darkey 
would  pass  within  gunshot  of  the  old 
graveyard  after  night  fall.  Only  a  few 
years  since  it  was  pointed  out  to  the  visit- 
ing tourist  as  a  dangerous  spot.  At  one 
time  the  old  mansion  was  said  to  be 
haunted  also,  and  various  were  the  tales 
and  stories  of  hobgoblins  dwelling  therein. 

Report  said  no  one  ever  returned  who 
had  been  seen  to  enter  the  house  or  go 
near  it  after  sunset.  Noises  were  heard, 
groans,  etc.,  even  in  broad  daylight  ; 
everyone  shunned  the  place.  At  length 
five  young  gentlemen  determined  to  as- 


136  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

certain  what  the  trouble  was  and  to  lay 
the  ghost,  if  any  there  were.  According- 
ly, they  went  to  pass  a  night  in  the  old 
mansion,  taking  with  them  rifles,  pis- 
tols, some  bottles  of  wine,  etc.  About 
eleven  they  heard  the  drawing  back  of 
a  bolt  on  the  door  leading  from  the  cellar 
below.  They  secreted  themselves  so  as 
not  to  be  seen.  After  a  few  minutes 
a  huge  darkey  emerged  from  be-hind 
the  door  and  advanced  too  far  into 
the  room  to  retreat  before  being  seized. 
He  was  terrified  and  at  the  pistol's  point 
gave  his  history.  He  was  a  poor  fugi- 
tive slave  from  Virginia,  and  with  five 
others  had  been  living  in  the  old  mansion 
for  nearly  two  years.  At  night  they  went 
out  foraging  for  food,  etc.,  and  during 
the  day  uttered  groans,  etc.,  that  they 
knew  would  frighten  off  visitors.  He 
declared  they  were  perfectly  harmless  and 
if  the  gentlemen  would  allow  it,  he  would 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  137 

call  his  companions  and  let  them  speak 
for  themselves. 

The  gentlemen  saw  the  poor,  frightened 
fugitives  and  believed  their  sad  story. 
They  advised  the  darkeys  to  make  their 
way  out  of  the  county  as  quickly  as  pos- 
sible ;  gave  them  money  and  clothing,  and 
kept  Avatch  over  the  old  residence  until 
they  knew  it  was  vacated.  Many  years 
after,  one  of  the  gentlemen  was  travelling 
in  New  York  State  and  met  one  of  his  old 
friends  at  a  hotel.  The  waiter  made  him- 
self known  to  his  kind  liberator,  and 
could  not  do  enough  for  him  dining  his 
stay  at  the  hotel.  He  said  the  other  five 
were  doing  well  in  the  country,  and  had 
often  wondered  how  their  kind  friends 
were,  or  if  they  had  survived  the  Civil 
War,  etc. 

When  the  writer  last  visited  Blenheim, 
the  lower  rooms  only  were  fit  for  habitation 
and  they  were  occupied  by  mulattoes. 


138  GRANDMA'S  STORIES. 

The  beautiful  and  curious  winding  stairs 
leading  to  the  story  above,  and  where  the 
old  relics  were  kept,  were  so  rickety 
that  it  was  unsafe  to  attempt  ascent. 

The  most  noted  of  the  relics  was  a 
coach,  said  to  have  been  the  first  brought 
to  the  United  States,  or  Colonies,  The 
entire  body  of  the  vehicle  was  a  bright 
yellow  ;  the  upper  parts  of  black  leather  ; 
the  coachman's  seat  much  lower  than  the 
seats  within.  There  were,  also,  several 
old  style  chairs,  quite  unlike  any  we  see 
in  the  present  day. 

But ;  alas  for  Blenheim  !  During  the 
Civil  War  of  1861-1864,  the  time-honored 
mansion  was  razed  to  the  ground  by  the 
Unionists.  All  the  beautiful  bricks,  each 
of  which  could  have  told  a  tale  of  the  past, 
were  carried  off  for  the  purpose  of  building 
ovens,  etc.,  at  the  places  of  rendezvous  on 
the  shores  and  banks  of  the  Potomac,  and 
for  what  other  uses  they  were  needed.  It  is 


GRANDMA'S  STORIES.  139 

said  that  many  of  the  bricks  were  sold  to 
the  darkeys,  or  given  to  them  in  reward  for 
the  service  they  rendered  to  the  portions 
of  the  army  scattered  in  different  sections 
of  the  county  during  the  winter  months. 
Such  a  dilapidation  and  sucli  destruction 
of  an  old,  historic  residence  can  but  call 
forth  the  exclamation  :  "/SYc  transit  gloria 
mundi" 


JS2SSBS*  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FAC.LITY 
Illlllllf 


A     000034130     5 


